Aesthetics

Different but the Same: An Analysis of Aesthetics in the Call of Duty Franchise First Person Shooters (FPS) is one of the most famous genres within the gaming industry. It started with titles like Doom, Counter Strike, and now Call of Duty. Nowadays, console and PC gaming is a billion dollar industry. Multiple corporate and independent developers are working day in and day out to supply the market with better, bigger games. However, there are some titles which stand out from the rest, titles that always seem to be churning out one more instalment.

One of these stand-out titles is the Call of Duty Franchise. Call of Duty is a series of games that at present, have nine main instalments, and another nine “lesser” titles to which the only difference is the console on which they are played. By “main” instalment, this means that the game was released on multiple platforms, which primarily includes PC, Playstation and the Xbox. It all started in October 29, 2003 with the release of Call of Duty. Since then, there has been a Call of Duty release every year, with Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 being the most recent adaptation, which came out November 12, 2012.

The researcher will limit the discussion to the Call of Duty franchise, on the PC platform. To be specific, the four most recent games which include: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. The researcher aims to answer the question: Is Call of Duty overrated as a franchise? To answer the question, the researcher will analyze each game on eight components of aesthetics which include: Sensation, Fantasy, Narrative, Challenge, Fellowship, Discovery, Expression and Submission (Hunicke, LeBlanc and Zubek).

In answering the question: “Is Call of Duty overrated as a franchise”, the researcher aims to educate both himself and his reader(s) on the importance of proper video game analysis. Nowadays, it is common to see a game receive a large amount of hype, such that gamers, who expected so much from a game, get disappointed and end up feeling like they wasted their money. It happened to Diablo III, where a sequel was created for the highly successful Diablo II, twelve years after it was released. Many gamers ended up disappointed with Diablo III, where changes to the core aesthetics of the game changed the way the game was going to be layed. These kinds of mistakes by the game industry, although excusable, could have been avoided. Likewise, the researcher will use Call of Duty as an example for this method for proper video game analysis. Hopefully, this will shed light on the matter, allowing both gamers and game developers to better understand the manner by which games should be measured. By analyzing on the different components of aesthetics, it would be plausible to define the franchise as “overrated” if they do not significantly improve in any one aspect and at the same time, deliver the same kind of performance in each instalment.

Before going into the full “meat” of the analysis, the researcher would like to delve a little into the components of Aesthetics that will be used in the analysis later on. The researcher wishes to stress that most of the analysis on each aesthetic is based on his opinions, based on the fact that he is a dedicated gamer himself. The nature of the analysis of game design using the MDA format is that it considers both the perspectives of the game developer and the player. A key concept of MDA is that the developer and player perceive the game through opposite ends of the spectrum (Portnow).

The player would first experience the aesthetics of the game, the general reason that they are playing it. The developer on the other hand, due to the nature of his work, sees the mechanics of the game, and how they influence the dynamics, and eventually the aesthetics. In understanding the definition of these mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics, it could be said that a game is overrated when it may be different in mechanics but deliver the same performance in aesthetics. The First Aesthetic: Game as Sense Pleasure

The first aesthetic is defined as the game’s ability to stimulate the senses (Portnow). Be it sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell, as long as the game is able to stimulate the senses of the player, this could be considered an aesthetic. For Call of Duty, the senses that are (if at all) stimulated are sight and sound. As a breakdown of sight, the most important parts is the gun itself, the enemies and the “set” or location. A breakdown of sound would be the general tone, and sound effects. For all four instalments of the game included in the research, the graphics were generally the same.

Advances in technology, greater processing power of consoles as well as computers allowed game developers to create richer, more detailed and crisp visuals for the game. However with this in mind, the modelling and texture of Black Ops 2 with respect to Modern Warfare 2 is significant. However, visuals are much more than the quality of the image, and have more to do with content. Content wise, there is no difference. The gun itself and other equipment are the same. Why? Because they use guns that actually exist in real life, which means that there is no deviation in model and texture.

Since all four instalments are set in around the same time frame, the guns present inside are the same. The enemies inside do not differ as well. Generally speaking, enemies are dressed up to characterize them. This is obvious, but this also means that most enemies will be the same. For example, there are multiple instances resent in all four games that require the player to kill people from the middle-east. Scarves, light clothing and the trademark AK47 have become the definition of the terrorist. Sound, also does not differ since it is highly unlikely for the “sound” of a certain gun to change, because they are based on real-life guns.

In multiplayer, the element of music is not as present as in the single player option. In the single player, key plot points and tense moments are always supported by a musical score, and this helps to set the mood. Be it the sad death of an ally or the intense run-and-gun moments, there is the right music for the right time. This would be a reason for a gamer to enjoy the game, but it is hardly different from one instalment to another. Therefore, Call of Duty does not change in this aesthetic. This is in fact due to the basis on real-life elements which actually help the game perform in the next aesthetic.

The Second Aesthetic: Game as Make-Believe The paper on MDA defines the second aesthetic as fantasy. That is, the ability of the game to immerse the player in a role that normally he/she would not be able to partake in (Portnow). Call of Duty excels in their performance under this aesthetic. The paper on MDA explains that good games would be able to deliver on maybe one or two “core aesthetics” while great games deliver on three or four. These “core aesthetics” can also be defined as the primary emotive reasons that a player would want to play a certain game. Fantasy, is one of those core aesthetics when it comes to Call of Duty.

Whether it’s being a marine, being a stone-cold killer or a patriot, there is a role that the player is immersed in, and the experience is fed to them in pieces during the experience of play. How this changes from game to game, is another matter altogether. Call of Duty excels in the immersive aspect of play, because of the authenticity of the places, and items inside the “Call of Duty Universe” and because that the first person point-of-view. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 in itself is already very good at this immersive aspect, and the experience does not really change from one instalment to another.

The game itself, and the developers of the game, seem to have found the magic formula for the immersive aspect. Some would argue that better graphics are part of the immersive aspect. Things that break the immersive aspect are things like bugs, or errors in shading. These break the player away from the experience, and remind him/her that they are only playing a game. In the opinion of the researcher, this is not true. Games predating Call of Duty prove that good graphics does not equal a complete immersive experience. They may help, but it is not the most important thing.

Games like Counter Strike, Half Life, Halo, and even some Doom games manage to immerse the player in another role without “life-like” graphics. In terms of the second aesthetic, Call of Duty shines. Even in the multiplayer where the immersive aspect is not as great (due to the lack of context), the game play alone is enough to make the player feel like a soldier surrounded by enemies, armed only with his gun, and his skill. All in all, the experience remains the same. But since it has been said that graphics help marginally to improve it, each game could still be said to have been better than the last, even if it is just by millimetres.

The Third Aesthetic: Game as Drama The third aesthetic is narrative. This means that the player is playing the game for the story. In the terms of Call of Duty this means one thing: the single player. Plot wise, the stories of all four instalments covered in this research are practically the same. A soldier is taken out of the “regular army” to join an elite, top secret team to undergo a save-the-world mission, against an extremist, usually Russian, or Middle-Eastern. That being said, narrative is not one of the core aesthetics of the Call of Duty franchise.

However, it is interesting to say that narrative may be one of the reasons for the game developers to create another instalment. Just like movies, the story where the previous game left of, is picked up by the next game. The plot in itself is not great, however anyone who played the previous game could be interested in knowing how the story progresses. The narrative in the first three games, Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3, and Black Ops are player driven. In the game itself, the story will not progress until the player decides to move forward. Also, the game is linear and lacks depth.

The player is given the “illusion of choice” through the tactical action of moment-to-moment decision, however in the end he/she has to kill their enemy to progress. Therefore, the player’s role as the main character is not to “make decisions” but to “stay alive”. This in my opinion can get old fast. A person who played Modern Warfare 2 and will play Modern Warfare 3 will know all they need to know, and have seen almost some variation of every part of the campaign. This however, changes in Black Ops 2. The campaign in Black Ops 2 is different from the first three games, and is significantly better for doing so.

Although still not having the “freedom of total choice” there are still moments in the game, subtle and otherwise, where the player is given the chance to change the plot. To go above ground or below, whether to spare a life or not, these are some of the examples of choice that the player will experience, and will feel a greater depth than ever found in the first three games. Having made an actual choice, a contribution to the plot, the player is excited to play on, anxious to see how his actions impacted the greater scheme of things. When it comes to narrative, the last game is improved significantly.

The possibility of choice for the player is no small thing. With choice, came the aspect of “multiple endings”. In each ending, the player sees how he/she affected the world, and is given an overview of everything that has happened during the campaign. For this aesthetic, Black Ops 2 showed greater depth, and was better for doing so. The Fourth Aesthetic: Game as Obstacle Course The fourth aesthetic is challenge. From the nature of the genre, First-Person Shooter, to the setting of the game, which are the Cold War and a fictional World War 3, it is obvious that the fourth aesthetic is a core aesthetic of the game.

For the analysis of the fourth aesthetic, the researcher will divide the game into two categories: Single player and Multiplayer. This is because that the “enemy” of both is different, and highly changes the dynamic of play. First, the Single Player, where there is a focus on the one against many. The computer does not use tactically superior moves, but focuses on overwhelming the player with numbers. The “bad guys” hide in obviously tactical positions: behind the counter, around the corner, against the wall, always facing the player.

This creates an obstacle course that the player has to go through, and although is a challenge, can get monotonous and repetitive. In the multiplayer, there is more depth. Since other players online differ from one another, use different weapons and different tactics, this creates a dynamic that the player will require more skill to follow. The multiplayer in Call of Duty did not change much from game to game, if only in mechanics. In this way, it could be said that although challenge is a core aesthetic to the franchise, Call of Duty has already found its niche and no longer needs to change a large aspect of it.

However it is still no progress, on the part of the developer. Insight would say that the challenge comes from the other players, and it would be logical to buy the new game if everyone is going to be playing it too. That being said, this is a special aesthetic where the game developer is not the one responsible for challenge, the player is. The Fifth Aesthetic: Game as Social Framework The fifth aesthetic, fellowship, is any game that allows the player to work cooperatively with others (Portnow). In the Call of Duty franchise, this is present in both the single and multiplayer.

In the single player, the player is in a sense, part of the team. He/she may even form a connection toward other members, especially when the main character they are playing as holds them in high regard. The pair of Alex Mason and Frank Woods from the Black Ops series is comparable to a Han Solo and Chewbacca, and the player will cherish that bond. It is worth mentioning that the voice acting in Call of Duty is some of the best voice acting in the gaming industry, and this helps the player humanize the fictional characters in-game.

In the multiplayer, as a flip side of the aesthetic challenge, bonds are formed in between team mates. Team work is always required for objective-based play, and for people with a good enough gaming set, people in game can talk to each other over the net. The players who experience this aesthetic most are people who enter the game as a group, and have friends with them to share the experience in. In this aspect, the game developer does not control much of it, and the players are responsible. For example, why would a person play Modern Warfare 3 when all of his/her friends are playing Black Ops 2?

His/her friends are reason enough to but the new game. The Sixth Aesthetic: Game as Uncharted Territory The sixth aesthetic is discovery. Any player who plays the game to see what was previously unknown is a player who plays for discovery (Portnow). Again, this can be divided into the single and multiplayer, as the aspect of discovery is different for both. For the single player, discovery is not a large role to play. There aren’t many things to “unearth” and most things about the narrative are given to the player as a reward for beating the previous mission. This is true for the first three games, until Black Ops 2.

With multiple endings, as well as the option to reset the story to a particular mission, the player was left with some sort of replay value: the option to discover the alternate endings. This forced the player to do things differently to achieve them, and offered more depth. In the multiplayer, discovery comes through the form of a levelling system. Higher level players can use more things, and has access to more powerful guns and equipment. This made it so that the multiplayer experience was more of a journey than an arena, and kept the players interested longer.

In a way, the multiplayer did not change from game to game. However, there is a significant improvement on the part of the single player in Black Ops 2. The Seventh Aesthetic: Game as Self-Discovery The seventh aesthetic is defined as expression, or the ability of the players to express themselves through the game. In Call of Duty, this is limited to the multiplayer. In the single player, the player is thrust into the shoes of a fictional character and therefore does not express himself. Expression in the multiplayer however, comes from the “Create your own Class” system. In other words, load out.

The player gets to choose the primary weapon, secondary, as well as buffs to their character by way of “perks”. Whether the player is the run-and-gun type, or the silent sniper, these are all forms of expression. In terms of expression as an aesthetic, the game itself does not improve. Expression is something that is player driven, and can only be helped by more options for customization. As this game does not offer more customization from game to game, it could be said that it did not improve. The Eighth Aesthetic: Game as Past-time The eight aesthetic is called submission.

This means that the player plays the game as a way to tune-out; much like reading a book or watching TV does (Portnow). It is difficult for the researcher to judge games on this aesthetic, seeing as the developers have no way to control this. People playing Black Ops 2 now, played Modern Warfare 2 before, and played Counter Strike even before that. Older gamers would be able to relate more games to their experience, and the researcher is speaking out of his own experience from playing first person shooters. Interestingly enough, the eighth aesthetic is aided not by the difference in games, but the similarity of them.

People who have been playing the FPS as a genre for a long time would be able to enjoy this aesthetic more when the new games holds more similarities to old ones. In this way, developers are aiding their players by keeping the game relatively standard. In this, the game could be said to be the same for all four instalments, and does not improve. Of the eight aesthetics discussed, six are actually controlled by the developer. Of those six, the franchise as a whole has been seen to improve in three. That is half of those supposedly developer-induced aesthetics. Because of this, the game is judged to be not over rated.

Small or big, there have been changes to the franchise with respect to the last four instalments with regard to the aesthetics. Whether these changes actually merit the game being “worthy” of being purchased, is in the opinion of the buyer. But as said before, there are another two aesthetics which are not developer-controlled. Which are the fourth and fifth. The players aid each other in these aesthetics by playing the game itself, and people seeking competition must go where competition lies. However, as said before, these games at most times changed marginally, and whether this deserves a $60 price tag is the player’s choice.

As a researcher, the game is sound, and it is apparent that a lot of work went into the creation of these games. As a gamer, the researcher must implore other gamers to demand quality from their games. We as a culture, a society who enjoys this form of media have to be specific with what we want from the game developers. Do some small, arbitrary changes to the system deserve our money? If the next game is really the previous one with better graphics, we should think about where we put our money and whether these games are worth buying. To conclude, Black Ops 2 picks up the slack of where the first three left off.

Individually, these games deserve their standing, since all of them perform excellently in at least 4, maybe 5 aesthetics. As a whole, the franchise has found its niche. People are inherently intelligent, and will only buy when the price is right. It is the responsibility of the developers to improve, however their greatest responsibility will always be to satisfy the needs of the customers. Bibliography Ahearn, Nate. “Call of Duty: Black Ops Review. ” 9 November 2010. IGN. 10 January 2013. Bozon, Mark. “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Review. ” 10 November 2009. IGN. 0 January 2013. Gallegos, Anthony. “CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS 2 REVIEW. ” 13 November 2012. IGN. 10 January 2013. —. “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Review. ” 8 November 2011. IGN. 10 January 2013. Hunicke, Robin, Marc LeBlanc and Robert Zubek. “MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research. ” 2004. 3 January 2013. . Portnow, James. “Extra Credits: Aesthetics of Play. ” 17 October 2012. Extra Credits. 3 January 2013. Ryckert, Dan. “Call of Duty: Black Ops II. ” 13 November 2012. gameinformer. 10 January 2013. Sicart, Miguel. “Defining Game Mechanics. ” December

————————————————- September 19th ————————————————- Film Form; Film & Critical Analysis – Chapter 11 * Step 1: Develop a thesis * What is interesting, disturbing or noteworthy? * Does that aspect illustrate a concept from lecture w clarity? Is it a good example of something we talked about in class? * Did it have a unique effect on you? * Step 2: Segment the film * What features stuck out the most (given that weeks class topic)? * How are those features related to the film as a whole?

Pay attention to details and how they affect the film * Step 3: Identify the outstanding instances of technique * Understand the techniques/concepts * Note specific examples of techniques * Types of lighting, angle, shots, narrative, style, etc. ————————————————- September 26th ————————————————- Styles of Film * Two major directions – realistic and formalistic * Directions or “types” are defines by form, not content Three Styles of Film/Media: * Realistic (focused on content, portraying as real life) * Classicism (in-between) Formalism (manipulation, taking out of reality) Realism: * Reproduce reality with minimum distortion-objective mirror * Major concern is with content, rather than form * Subject matter is supreme * Documentary film * Imagine as we’re watching it as we would see it through our own eyes * Ex: Big Brother – raw, unscripted, stagnant cameras, not playing w manipulation * Would never see something like a birds eye view of crowds of people, because we would never see that in real life. If we were watching a conversation happening it would be from one angle Formalism: Deliberately stylized and distort images (special effects, explosions, zooming in/out, narrative structure: in real life happens in temporal order as it would happen to us, in these movies jumps around in time) * Wants no one to mistake manipulated image for real thing (not pretending that this is reality, want to show the manipulation) * Concerned with form rather than content * Referred to as expressionist (self-expression, trying to create connections between stories/events that if watched over & over it has deeper meaning) * Avant-garde cinema Classical: What most fictional films/shows are classified as (we would never live like this but its fun to watch, drama, comedy, group of characters that the similarities can relate to your life but also an element that the story is manipulated that wouldn’t be reality) * Films are strong in story, star (someone we identify), and production values (summer block busters, high financial investment in production because high financial return) * Clearly defined plot, conflict, rising climax, and resolution/closure * Avoids extremes of realism and formalism (wouldn’t see camera work that seems natural, but wouldn’t have random objects on the screen) (realistic enough but also fantasy) ————————————————- Narrative as a Formal System – Chapter 3 I. Principles of Narrative Construction: * Plot & Story * Cause-Effect * Time * Space * Patterns of development II. Flow of Story Information: Narration * Range of Story Information * Depth of Story Information * Narrator Narrative Form Most common in fictional media, but can be nonfictional too (ex: Bachelor – what’s going to happen next week suspense) * Identify because stories are all around us * What is narrative? Narrative is a chain of events linked by cause and effect and occurring in time (how is this constructed…chronological? Jumping from times? ) and space (location, extras in background, cars, etc) Components of Narrative Form * Plots and Stories * Story is the subject matter or raw material of a narrative * A set of all events * Plot orders the events and actions of the story according to temporal and spatial patterns * Plots can vary – jump around or chronological, can focus on one person at a time or a group – in the end still has same story line * Cause and Effect Characters create causes and effects by making certain things happen and reacting to events * Qualities of the character influence cause-effect relationships * Physical characteristics, traits, personality * Action/Reaction * Can be a natural disaster, etc * Time * Construct story time based on order the plot presents them * We don’t need mundane elements (shower, sleep) to make sense of a story * Temporal order is the order which events occur (are they happening in chronological, or flashbacks, or jumping) * Temporal duration is the length and which events p (is there a moment they pay more time to? What is the significance of that scene) * Temporal frequency is how often events within a story are revisited * Space Events occur in clearly defined locations where the action takes place * Associate other elements based on locations * Tells us information that isn’t stated * Opening, closing, patterns of development * Classic paradigm most popular in media * Set of conventions are present in classical narrative structure * Characters are goal oriented * Three-act structure model * Set up, Confrontation, Resolution ————————————————- October 3rd ————————————————- Mise-en-Scene Mise-en-Scene: the arrangement of all the visual elements of a theatrical production within a given playing area – the stage.

Derived from a French theatrical term meaning “between the scenes” * The Frame * Composition & Design * Territorial Space * Proxemic Patterns The Frame * Each movie image is enclosed in a frame * Filmmaker doesn’t fit a frame to the subject, but the subject matter to the frame * Dimensions of a frame are known as the aspect ratio Frame: Top – suggest ideas of power, controls all visual elements (usually someone scary, or authoritative) Center – reserved for area of interest, realism (expectation that through real eyes we expect something to be there) Bottom – powerlessness Left/Right Edges – suggest insignificance, unnoticed Off the Frame – fearful, importance

Composition & Design * The visual balance in the composition of the film * Want to maintain equilibrium between elements because it is easy to follow * Depending on the type of film, a bad composition may be effective * The human eye attempts to organize elements in composition Dominant Contrast * The area of an image that immediately attracts out attention because of contrast * Stand out in some kind of isolation Subsidiary Contrast * After we take in dominant we scan for counterbalancing devices – Lines & Diagonals – Exaggerate Movement – Light & Dark, Shadow – Colour – Framing Territorial Space 1. Full Front a. Facing the camera b. Most intimate c.

Viewer feels involved 2. Quarter Turn d. Favorite position for filmmakers e. Less emotional, but high intimacy still 3. Profile Position f. Character is less aware of being observed 4. Three Quarter Turn g. Even more isolated than profile shot h. Unfriendly or anti-social 5. Back Shot i. Suggests alienation from world j. Mystery, audience wants to see more * Setting can have symbolic meaning * Sunny exterior, inside, public/private * Consider Contextual use – setting * Consider way one setting is used to create different effects Proxemic Patters * The relationship of objects within a given space * Many factors determine space * Light, climate, noise level Patterns are similar to the way people obey certain special rules in social situations * The more distance between the camera and with subject, the more emotionally neutral we remain * “Long shot for comedy, close up for tragedy” – Chaplin * Space is seen through 4 patterns * Intimate: extreme close * Personal: medium * Social: full range * Public: long and extreme long ————————————————- October 17th ————————————————- Editing Classical Cutting * French were the first to use cutting to continuity to create “arranged scenes” * Editing for emotion and drama, rather than for purely physical reasons * Presents a series of psychologically connected shots * Film: A Trip to the Moon by Georges Melies Concepts in Classical Cutting Content Curve – where a cut should be made; point at which audience has been able to assimilate shot’s information (audience wont be bored because scene is too long ex: Jaws – one frame too long risks boredom, one too shot risk audience being able to make sence) * Parallel Editing – switching of shots of one scene with another at a different location to convey idea of simultaneous time Continuity Editing * Also called “invisible editing,” a system devised to minimize the audiences awareness of shot transitions, especially cuts, in order to improve the flow of the story to avoid interrupting the viewers immersion in it * Continuity and Space: editors follow a standard shot patter to maintain spatial continuity * Establish shot, moves to a series of individual shots, back to establishing shot * Film: American Beauty Shot/Reverse Shot: shot of one character is followed by shot of another taken from the reverse angle – as they have a convo we always see the back shoulder of the other person talking across the table so we always know how close they are * 180 Degree Rule: once camera starts filming on one side of action, it must continue filming on same side for the rest of the scene * Eyeline Matches: using characters line of vision as motivation for a cut, matching another characters * Continuity and Time * Match on Action: Different views of the same action pieced together to look continuous (someone jumping building to building – we see them take off & land) * Jump Cut: abrupt shift in time and place of an action which s not announced by a transition CLIP: Breathless – driving in car only shows clips of driving while they’re talking=cuts out blank space * Continuity Error: any unintentional discrepancy from shot to shot (seeing a boom in the corner) * Change in location, posture, hair, costume, etc. Soviet Montage and Formalist Tradition * 1920’s Soviet filmmakers developed editing style around the theory that editing should exploit the differences between shots to create meaning * Film was seen as a political tool * Soviet montage, also called collision montage – rhythmic, intellectual (The Godfather baptism scene – baptism + murder + he knows the killings are happening so this becomes a 3rd meaning) Realism Photography, TV, and cinema produce realistic images automatically * Viewed classical cutting and montage to be distorting, corrupting * After WW2 neorealism emerged which deemphasized editing * Film: Stranger than Paradise – shows boy on phone, doesn’t give us other side of conversation we only know what he says – shots hardly move to accommodate characters we see what can fit into the frame – doesn’t cut out useless times, shows everyone doing every action – goes black in between scenes) ————————————————- November 14th – Understanding Genre * Genres are various types of films that audiences and filmmakers recognize by their familiar narrative, stylistic, and thematic conventions * Various conventions I. Narrative Elements – Most important criteria for defining a genre – Character types – Plot events Thematic recurrence – general meanings from plot that surface again and again II. Visual, sound, objects & setting * Lighting tends to be similar in films w same genre * Sound draws attention to possibilities that neither the characters nor the audience can see * Objects/setting serve as recurring symbolic images that carry meaning from film to film III. Predictability and Variation * Genres meet audience expectations * However, a film without surprises become cliche * Sub genres begin to form – smaller clusters of films within a genre * Many films incorporate characteristics of multiple genres, creating a hybrid * No genre can be defined in a single way *

Using aesthetic guidelines in elegance and efficient manner,

acquire optimisation of open constructions improved.

1. Undertaking summery

This undertaking seeks to understand relationship between optimisation of open constructions and aesthetic. During formal instruction, applied scientists and designers may be exposed to issues of efficiency in design but they are seldom expected to turn to the aesthetics of their designs. In the workplace every bit good, there is really small counsel for applied scientists and designers wishing to turn to both aesthetics and efficiency more closely in design. Therefore, research job is: the relationship of aesthetics and efficiency of open constructions such as columns and trusses in public edifices has been acutely overlooked. Except for a limited successful undertaking in structural art, we have confronted with deficiency of aesthetic characteristic in constructions and besides limited specii¬?c regulations are enforced in current design codifications about aesthetic characteristics. Some structural creative person such as Fazlorkhan and Nervi presume the thought that “ a construction that is efficient will automatically be elegant ” ( Woodruff & A ; Billington, 2007 ) . Khan steadfastly asserts that “ construction is based on a sort of ground expressed mathematical theories, which has its ain built-in aesthetics. “ ( Khan, 1981 ) . This Idea is versus the impression that much money must be spent to bring forth a beautiful construction. “ ( Nan Hu, Feng, & A ; Dai, 2014 ) . This research proposal is to look into the balance between optimisation of open constructions with its aesthetic and structures beauty. More specifically, the purpose of this undertaking is to look into to develop conceptual programs and ocular guidelines for bettering the aesthetics and efficiency of open constructions particularly those in public infinite in interaction with people. This undertaking asks: What are the cardinal factors in structural design that affect its aesthetic, What factors in open construction design can take us to hold efficient and elegance design?

2. Research Objective

The undermentioned research aims are formulated to accomplish the purpose of this survey:

I. To develop conceptual programs and ocular guidelines for bettering the aesthetics and efficiency of open constructions.

two. To place what factors in open constructions particularly columns and trusses design, can take to efficient and elegance design.

three. To find how optimisation can consequence on aesthetic.

four. To measure columns and trusses design for public infinite in order to hold optimize and beautiful construction together.

3. Hypothesis

There are 2 different premise about relationship between construction and aesthetic. But utmost prejudice about elegance of optimized construction or high cost of elegance construction is under challenge.

I. There are distinguishable relationship between construction and optimisation with aesthetic.

two. The thought that a construction that is efficient will automatically be elegant is non ever true.

three. The impression that much money must be spent to bring forth a beautiful construction is misconception.

four. Optimized constructions have their built-in aesthetic but this function will non use to any construction.

4. Research Questions

This survey is covering with the following research inquiries:

I. What are the cardinal factors in structural design that affect its aesthetic?

two. How optimisation in open constructions can impact their aesthetic in order to do constructions more elegance to pull more people in public edifice?

three. What factors in expose construction design can take us to hold efficient and elegance design?

5. Research Background

In understanding construct of aesthetic, because of different assignments and instruction backgrounds, there has been a long treatment between designer and structural applied scientist ( Nan Hu et al. , 2014 ; Sev, 2001 ) . Historically close relationship between professions such as architecture and structural technology are undeniable. Among the separating features between the two is the issue of aesthetic and efficiency ( Allen, 2010 ; Burke Jr, 1989 ; Nervi, 1965 ; Woodruff & A ; Billington, 2007 ) . Since the beginning of human idea, aesthetics have been a topic of philosophical argument. The simple inquiry, “ what is beauty? ” many replies are given to this inquiry by designers, philosophers, and applied scientists ( Lothian, 1999 ) . The major alteration occurred, when beauty as inherent in the object, displacement to sing it as “ in the eyes of the perceiver ” ( Arnett, 1955 ; N Hu & A ; Dai ; Lothian, 1999 ; Malan & A ; Bredemeyer, 2002 ; Rodriguez ) .Santayana stated ( Arnett, 1955 ) , that the experience of aesthetic is a hint to the character of the single holding that experience. Santayana besides asserts that the “ aesthetic component should non i¬?nally be abstracted from the practical and moral map of things ” ( Arnett, 1955 ) . The beauty of efficient constructions initiates resonance in the scruples of the spectator ( Saliklis, Bauer, & A ; Billington, 2008 ) . Therefore, the aesthetic quality of a efficient structural signifier needfully arises within the restraints of the engineer’s ethical duty to society ( D. P. Billington, 1997 ; Burke & A ; Montoney, 1996 ) .

While designers may underscore aesthetic to changing grades, applied scientists have to plan expeditiously because that is the most of import purpose of structural design. And the greatest plants of structural creative persons, integrate economic system, efi¬?ciency, and elegance ( Billington, 1983 ) . Since the rise of the modern p technology, nevertheless, great aesthetic value of construction has been cited by many structural creative persons ( N Hu & A ; Dai ) . The applied scientists began to understand the immune behaviour of constructions and the strength of stuffs. Larger buildings was built due to the new stuffs and hence, it became important to better apprehension of how they performed ( Billington, 1984 ; Schlaich, 2006 ; Sev, 2001 ) . Therefore, structural technology initiated to hold a scientific footing and as a consequence, split between architecture and construction became wider ( Billington, 1984 ) . When Telford’s 1812 began to compose an essay on Bridgess, it makes modern structural creative persons witting of the aesthetic ideals that guided their plants. The outstanding illustration of a structural art is, possibly, Brooklyn Bridge in New York and Eiffel Tower in Paris ( Billington, 1984 ; Burke & A ; Montoney, 1996 ) . America became the technological leader and the centre of the artistic universe, After World War II. Many great structural creative persons immigrated to the US and had the chance to set their thought into pattern ( Nan Hu et al. , 2014 ) . Mies van der rohe, one of the most of import designer and structural creative person, survived the daze of the transatlantic crossing best and continued his thought to foreground “ Less is more ” , which can be seen in his plants in Chicago and Illinois ( N Hu & A ; Dai ) . Furthermore, construct of “ Form follows map, ” besides helped to give rise to the “ international manner ” ( Lambert, 1993 ; Menn, 1996 ) . Alongside with international manner, some structural creative person such as Nervi and Fazlorkhan province the construct that “ a construction that is efficient will automatically be elegant ” . ( Nan Hu et al. , 2014 ) . Khan asserts that “ construction is based on a sort of ground expressed mathematical theories, which has its ain built-in aesthetics. ” ( Sabina Khan, 2013 ) . Simplicity of construction means paying attending to structural inside informations, and guaranting that the construction be every bit efi¬?cient as possible. He states that “ good elaborate and efi¬?cient constructions possess the natural elegance of slenderness and ground, and have perchance a higher value than the caprices of a priori aesthetics imposed by designers who do non cognize how to work closely with applied scientists, and who do non hold an interior feeling for natural structural signifiers ” ( Sabina Khan, 2013 ) . Nervi said that esteeming what is structurally rational and economically prudent really establishes the “ rightness ” and the “ moralss ” of edifice ( Nervi, 1965 ) . Architecture has faced infinite manners in order to make desire aesthetic, but the principium behind the structural art hunt for a cost-efficient and performance-efi¬?cient design ( Billington, 1984 ; Schlaich, 2006 ) . “ The aesthetic look of a structural signifier is neither a pure desire to i¬?nd a form for ornament nor a subordination of its map ; otherwise a construction would be overdesigned without any visual aspect of structural art ” ( Schlaich, 2006 ) . Surveies have shown how design evolved to accomplish an efi¬?cient and elegance construction by understanding rules of structural. For illustration, Othmar Ammann designed Bayonne Bridge which can be considered work of structural art when compared to the similar design used in the Hell Gate Bridge, due to latter was less monumental and more functional ( Gauvreau, 2007 ; Thrall & A ; Billington, 2008 ) . Another illustration, the structural efi¬?ciency of Felix Candela’s Cuernavaca Chapel was achieved due to the understanding structural rule of shell. Candela minimized flexing minute in the shell and introduced the basic signifier of the inflated paraboloid for the design of ribs ( Draper, Garlock, & A ; Billington, 2008 ) . This type of structural signifiers have characteristics of higher efi¬?ciency and elegance visual aspect together. Therefore, elegance constructions do non necessitate utmost cost needfully ( S. L. Billington, 1997 ; Menn, 1996 ; Woodruff & A ; Billington, 2007 ) . Many illustrations have shown that within the bounds of structural feasibleness and efi¬?ciency, accomplishing an aesthetic end is possible. The history and aesthetics of cable-stayed Bridgess was discussed ( Billington & A ; Nazmy, 1991 ) . Another illustration was shown by Honigmann and Billington discussed the Sunniberg Bridge, designed by Christian Menn, to demo how simple computations of conceptual design can take to an ab initio aesthetically and structurally sensible p design ( Honigmann & A ; Billington, 2003 ) . Most recent structural creative persons valued aesthetic characteristic even more in their design works. Eduardo Torroja said that “ the enjoyment and witting apprehension of aesthetic pleasance will without uncertainty be much greater if, through cognition of the regulations of harmoniousness, we can bask all the rei¬?nement sand flawlessnesss of the edifice in inquiry. ” ( Torroja, 1962 ) .

6. Problem Statement

Due to the long argument between designers and structural applied scientists about efficiency and aesthetic, we have faced two misconception about structural design: the thought that “ a construction that is efi¬?cient will automatically be elegant ” ( Khan, 1981 ) . This Idea is versus the impression that much money must be spent to bring forth a beautiful construction. “ ( Nan Hu et al. , 2014 ) . For illustration structural design such as The Alamillo Bridge that are aesthetically advanced, structurally rational to construct ( Guest, Draper, & A ; Billington, 2012 ) . Yet designers and structural applied scientists tend to pay comparatively small attending to efficiency and aesthetics at the same clip for structural design. In the workplace every bit good, there is really small counsel for applied scientists and designers wishing to turn to both aesthetics and efficiency more closely in design. The relationship of aesthetics and efficiency of open constructions such as columns and trusses in public edifices has been sorely overlooked. Hence, except for a limited successful undertaking in structural art, we have confronted with deficiency of aesthetic characteristic in constructions and besides limited specii¬?c regulations are enforced in current design codifications about aesthetic characteristics. Besides, many efficient construction are non beautiful besides many beautiful construction are non efficient either. Therefore, aesthetic guidelines for optimize construction are needed to be done.

7. Research Gap

There is small specii¬?c guideline about aesthetic characteristics of constructions, but many research workers proposed general guidelines on betterment of aesthetics. ( Leonhardt, 1984 ) formulated 10 regulations for p design and ( Troitsky, 1994 ) besides gave 10 demands for p aesthetics. In Leonhardt’s book Bridges, the nine regulations of aesthetics have presented. All these rules could be sorted into two groups, to better the elegance of constructions and to better their harmoniousness with the environment. Sarah Billington ‘s PhD thesis is besides approximately bettering criterions short and moderate p p in aesthetic manner ( S. L. Billington, 1997 ) . Although regulations can non vouch the elegance and efficiency of a construction at the same clip, at least they can assist interior decorators avoid certain sorts of unattractive designs. ( Nan Hu et al. , 2014 ) . There are really many rules and really many ways to happen them out. However, no counsel is given as to how to set them together in one undertaking ( D. P. Billington, 1997 ) . There is small aesthetic guideline that merely use to bridge ( Burke Jr, 1989 ) . And other type of constructions peculiarly exposed construction such as columns and trusses in public infinite due to its important function to pull people to architecture demand to be surveyed.

8. Research Method

The purpose of this survey is to look into the balance between optimisation in open construction ( columns and trusses ) in public edifice with its aesthetic and construction beauty. It will research optimisation of open construction with package analyze and quantitative method and will analyze their success in aesthetic guideline with interviews. This survey will use the assorted methods consecutive explanatory design for this intent of informations aggregation. The assorted methods consecutive explanatory attack chiefly consists of two peculiar phases: quantitative followed by the qualitative stage ( Ivankova, Creswell, & A ; Stick, 2006 ; Tashakkori & A ; Creswell, 2007 ) .

Figure 1: The Mixed-Methods Sequential Explanatory Design

9. Mention

Allen, B. ( 2010 ) . Architect and Engineer: A Study in Sibling Rivalry ( reappraisal ) .Common Knowledge, 16( 1 ) , 157-157.

Arnett, W. E. ( 1955 ) . Santayana and the Sense of Beauty.

Billington, D. P. ( 1983 ) . The tower and the p.Princeton U, 1983.

Billington, D. P. ( 1984 ) . Constructing Bridges: Positions on Recent Engineering.Annalss of the New York Academy of Sciences, 424( 1 ) , 309-324.

Billington, D. P. ( 1997 ) .Robert Maillart: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Billington, D. P. , & A ; Nazmy, A. ( 1991 ) . History and aesthetics of cable-stayed Bridgess.Journal of Structural Engineering, 117( 10 ) , 3103-3134.

Billington, S. L. ( 1997 ) .Bettering standard Bridgess through aesthetic guidelines and attractive, efficient concrete infrastructures.University of Texas at Austin.

Burke Jr, M. P. ( 1989 ) . Bridge Design and the “Bridge Aesthetics Bibliograph” .Journal of Structural Engineering, 115( 4 ) , 883-899.

Burke, M. P. , & A ; Montoney, J. ( 1996 ) . Science, engineering, and aesthetics: three facets of design excellence.Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1549( 1 ) , 93-98.

Draper, P. , Garlock, M. E. , & A ; Billington, D. P. ( 2008 ) . Finite-element analysis of Felix Candela’s chapel of Lomas de Cuernavaca.Journal of Architectural Engineering, 14( 2 ) , 47-52.

Gauvreau, P. ( 2007 ) . Invention and aesthetics in p technology.The Canadian Civil Engineer, 23( 5 ) , 10-12.

Guest, J. K. , Draper, P. , & A ; Billington, D. P. ( 2012 ) . Santiago Calatrava’s Alamillo p and the thought of the structural applied scientist as creative person.Journal of Bridge Engineering, 18( 10 ) , 936-945.

Honigmann, C. , & A ; Billington, D. P. ( 2003 ) . Conceptual design for the Sunniberg Bridge.Journal of Bridge Engineering, 8( 3 ) , 122-130.

Hu, N. , & A ; Dai, G. From separate to combine——the ever-changing boundary line between architectural art and structural art.

Hu, N. , Feng, P. , & A ; Dai, G.-L. ( 2014 ) . Structural art: Past, nowadays and hereafter.Engineering Structures, 79, 407-416.

Ivankova, N. V. , Creswell, J. W. , & A ; Stick, S. L. ( 2006 ) . Using mixed-methods consecutive explanatory design: From theory to pattern.Field Methods, 18( 1 ) , 3-20.

Khan, F. R. ( 1981 ) . Structural Theories and their Architectural Expression–A Review of Possibilities.The Chicago Architectural Journal, 1, 41.

Lambert, S. ( 1993 ) .Form Follows Function: Design in the 20 Th Century: Victoria & A ; Albert Museum London.

Leonhardt, F. ( 1984 ) .Bridges.

Lothian, A. ( 1999 ) . Landscape and the doctrine of aesthetics: is landscape quality inherent in the landscape or in the oculus of the perceiver?Landscape and urban planning, 44( 4 ) , 177-198.

Malan, R. , & A ; Bredemeyer, D. ( 2002 ) . Less is more with minimalist architecture.IT professional, 4( 5 ) , 48, 46-47.

Menn, C. ( 1996 ) . The topographic point of aesthetics in p design.Structural technology international, 6( 2 ) , 93-95.

Nervi, P. L. ( 1965 ) .Aestheticss and engineering in edifice: Harvard Univ Pr.

Rodriguez, S.The Role of Aesthetics in Bridge Design.Paper presented at the Structures Congress 2008 @ sCrossing Boundary lines.

Sabina Khan, Y. ( 2013 ) . Dr. Fazlur R. Khan ( 1929–1982 ) : technology innovator of modern architecture.Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, 9( 1 ) , 1-7.

Saliklis, E. P. , Bauer, M. , & A ; Billington, D. P. ( 2008 ) . Simplicity, Scale, and Surprise: Evaluating Structural Form.Journal of Architectural Engineering, 14( 1 ) , 25-29.

Schlaich, J. ( 2006 ) . Engineering—Structural Art—ArtJames Carpenter( pp. 8-9 ) : Springer.

Sev, A. ( 2001 ) . Integrating architecture and structural signifier in tall steel edifice design.CTBUH Review, 1( 2 ) , 24-31.

Tashakkori, A. , & A ; Creswell, J. W. ( 2007 ) . Column: The new epoch of assorted methods.Journal of assorted methods research, 1( 1 ) , 3-7.

Bondage, A. P. , & A ; Billington, D. P. ( 2008 ) . Bayonne Bridge: The Work of Othmar Ammann, Master Builder.Journal of Bridge Engineering, 13( 6 ) , 635-643.

Torroja, E. ( 1962 ) .Doctrine of Structure: University of California Press.

Troitsky, M. S. ( 1994 ) .Planing and design of Bridgess: John Wiley & A ; Sons.

Woodruff, S. , & A ; Billington, D. P. ( 2007 ) . Aesthetics and economic system in prosaic p design.International Journal of Space Structures, 22( 1 ) , 81-89.

Thesis: Bramante an Italian architect and painter whose work centered around the classical style of the ancients (www. wga. hu/index_co. html). Because Bramante is also attributee to the drawing of The Interior of the Church(www. wga. hu/index_co. html) The engraving was done by Bernado Prevedari. (www. wga. hu/index_co. html). Continuing to analyze the Church of Santa Maria, Bramante added the tribune to east end of the large church. The church was previously built in Gothic style in 1463, but was later torn down and Replaced by a Renaissance structure, to house the tombs if the Sforza Dynasty.

We will also look at other works and the semblance of these works by Donato Bramante. Bramante or Bramante Lazzari an Italian painte and architect was born in July 1444. He was born at the Monte Asdruvaldo in Urbino,(www. nndb. com/people/700/000084448). As a child Bramante showed a great taste for drawing and he was placed under the tutuledge of Fra Bartemmeo also called Fra Carnavale. Bramante was soon absorbed by architecture and studied under Scirro Scirri, an archtect in his native place as well as under other master.

Bramante set from Urbino executing works of varying magnitudes as he proceeded through several of Lombardy. (www. nndb. com). Bramante finally reached the city of Milan in Rome where he was attracted by the fame of the great Duomo. While in Milan Bramante devoted himself to the study of ancient buildings, both in the city and as far south as Naples (www. nndb. com). Bramante was commissioned by the Cardinal Caraffa to rebuild the cloister of the Convent della Pace. The Cardinal then introduced Bramante to Pope Alexander VI.

Bramante then executed for the Pope the Palace of the Cancelleria or Chancery. (www. nndb. com). Bramante was one of the most important architects of the papal court. This comes from the work he done for Pope Alexander VI and under Pope Julius II, Bramante undertook the redesign of the Vatican Palaces around the Belevedere courtyard. (lib-art. com/artgallery/755-donato-bramante. html). The repositioned fresco of Men at Arms and the wood panel Christ at the Column are at The Bera Gallery Houses.

The Christ at the Column is the only painting that can be attributed to Bramante. (www. lib-art. com). Bramante’s work again can be seen at the Sforza Castle which contains Bramante’s symbolic fresco Argus which he painted with Brammantino. (www. lib-art. com). Most of Bramante’s art is attributed to his architecture in the Church of Santa Maria. Bramante is attributed with the tribune, the exterior of the church,the exterior of the church as well as the interior of the choir.

Although there is no record that connects Bramante’s name with the present apse, transept, crossing,and dome they are attributed to him under the influence of Leonardo da Vinci whose radical architectural ideas they represent. (www. lib-art. com). Bramante executed numerous smaller works at Bologna and Rome, among these smaller works which are specially mentioned by older writers, the cloister of San Pietro a Moontario. Bramante took part in the greatest architectural enterprise ever attempted it was the rebuilding of St. Peter’s.

This was done under the order of Pope Julius II and Bramamte’s design were completed and was pushed so fast that the four great pillars and their arches were completed before his death in 1514. (www. answers. com/topic/donato-bramante). Bramante was known for the classical style architecture. His work paintings as well as architecture represented his classical thoughts as well as his philosophy. (www. artcyclopedia. com). Bramante not only did paintings he specialzed in architecture. One of his first master pieces was the Tempietto, sits in the coutyard in Montorio. Bramante worked from a historical typology. www. wga. hu/index_co. html). As you look at Bramante’s works such as The Tempietto, His work on the Church of Santa Maria as well as The Piazzo Ducale, (www. lib-art. com), we see the architectural elements known to Bramante, these elements acknowledge a debt to classical structures. In conclusion we see that Bramante had a knack for art whether it was in a painting such as Christ at the Column, Heraclitus and Democritus to the pillars and columns of the Church of Santa Maria or the the Church of St. Peter. Bramante and his classical style of architectue influenced other painters and architects.

The vital challenge for managing negative employees nowadays is to stay alive and flourish in a very chaotic globe. To achieve this, the Medical Aesthetics Market Place perceives it essential to keep positive attitudes of its organization. Ethical values, constantly applied, are the foundation in building a commercially victorious and generally responsible business (Barbuceanu & Fox, 1996).  Business organizations progress trust and a positive outlook between its personnel strengthen ethical framework and proffer a moral breadth during times of change and in catastrophe (Grimes & Alley, 1997).

Medica Spa owners require positive-productive employees to gain encouraging impact on their clienteles. For this objective, owners and managers endow with greater control over one’s manners, build assurance in decision making, and consent to more truthful discernments of one’s self. Those issues concern justice, honesty, correctness and an optimistic attitude; as a consequence it can only be resolved according to ethical standards.

Decision-making must be empowered to the level adjoining the field of action, on condition that, that this level has compulsory for positive reception from its employees at its clearance (Guest, 1989). A manager is required to make his function wider to increase dynamism, inventiveness and speed of achievement (Barenberg, 1994).

Employees in the Medical Aesthetics Market Place are in fact obliged to comply with significantly increased demands in quantity and quality. The movement in the present day is to hire less than sufficient staff and work to the maximum.  Negativity should be restricted to any level of an employee. Operations individuals at present have more duties and must generate more (Ghallab, 1994).

Owners are required to entrust a part of its sanctions to the subordinate hierarchical levels, if they do not want to be congested with more and more abundant and multifaceted problems. Delegation is mainly about entrusting an owner’s authority to others. This denotes that they can take action and begin autonomously; and that they presume duty with owners for tasks. Entrustment underpins a technique of management which allows the staff to exercise and widen their skills and knowledge to full potential (Guest, 1989). To manage negativity of employees, owners must:

• distribute adequate resources to board activities such as time, money, and facilities
• support workers and supervisors to collaborate with the committee and be involved
• entail the committee in each and every health and safety activities
• facilitate to schedule committee activities such as investigations as well as inspections
• divide health and safety matters from concerns not related
• work and take steps safely and guarantee that supervisors work and take action carefully

To manage negative employees, managers must be straightforward to the staff to assume their responsibilities, as every now and then it is very at ease to feel oneself protected from all risks that are inherent in running an organization’s operations; a desire from the managers must exist to abandon certain prerogatives – for it is a loss of authority – to be able to concentrate on other more significant activities; must be capable of setting up a career promotion and rewards that recompense the efforts of the staff that stimulate them and motivate their activity for the benefit of the group (Ghallab, 1994).  The staff must have enough knowledge on how to do their responsibilities with dedication and positive attitude. Thus, the business owners ought to facilitate access to the required understanding.

The owner who fears and cannot organize well will never manage negativity of employees successfully; the manager, who is acquainted with that the staff may possibly have supplementary experience and knowledge, and so may possibly develop the decision-making process, will receive their participation; managing negativity of employees guarantees that the staff will put decision-making into practice within the organization of their objectives and will sense that their perspectives are welcome. One of the main irrational fears about delegation is that by providing others authority, an owner or manager loses power (Grimes & Alley, 1997). This must not be the case.

If the owner trains the staff to take actions the same criteria as the manager would, by example and explanations, then the staff will be exercising the manager’s control on his/her behalf with positive outlook if and only if the manager demonstrates a positive attitude. And since they will distinguish many more circumstances over which control may be put into effect, then control will be exercised more rapidly and more diversely than an owner could put it into effect by his/her self.

An owner must be able to distribute the more mundane tasks as equally as possible; and add the more stimulating once as broadly. Generally, but particularly with the tedious tasks, an owner must be careful to delegate not only the performance of the mission but also its tenure (Barenberg, 1994). Task handing over, more willingly than task assignment, allows innovation and positive attitude and outlook in their work.

To manage negativity within a business,  an owner is supposed to increase progressively; first, a small assignment leading to a little improvement, then another assignment which constructs upon the first; when that is accomplished, add an additional step; and so on. This is the differentiation between asking people to balance a sheer wall (negative), and offering them with a flight of steps (positive).

When an owner delegates a job, it does not have to be finished as fit as an owner could do it in a given time, but only as fit as needed: never judge the upshot by what is expected (it is complicated to be objective – negative), but by fitness for positive function. When an owner delegates a task, he/she must agree upon the standards by which the result will be reviewed. An owner must not exaggerate a negative issue; if the staff did something wrong, the owner must have the skill of using specific and positive terms in correcting the mistake – not meaning to hurt the staff’s feelings (Barbuceanu & Fox, 1996).

References

Barbuceanu, M. & Fox, M. (1996). The Design of a Coordination Language for Multi-Agents

Systems. In Intelligent Agents III. Agent Theories, Architectures, and Languages.

Springer, pp.341-355.

Barenberg, M. (1994). Democracy and Domination in the Law of Workplace Cooperation:

From Bureaucratic to Flexible Production, 94 Colum. L. Rev. 753, 825–78. Harper,

supra note 468, at 113–14.

Ghallab, M. (1994). Past and future chronicles for supervision and planning. In Jean Paul

Haton, editor, Proceedings of the 14th Int. Avignon Conference, Paris, EC2 and AFIA,

pp23-34.

Grimes, G. & Alley, B. (1997). Intelligent Agents for Network Fault Diagnosis and Testing.

In Integrated Network Management V: integrated management in a virtual world. San

Diego, California, USA, May 1997. IFIP, Chapman & Hall, pp.232-244.

Guest, D. (1989). Personnel and HRM: Can you tell the difference? Personnel Management.

St. Paul, MN: West Publishing, pp23-27.

The schematization of aesthetics was founded in Ancient times, which is manifested in Plato and Aristotle’s philosophies. Plato stance on aesthetic is very negative because it can distract the innate nature of soul. But his pessimism on aesthetics specifically of arts in general is best represented in his conjecture that an art “is thrice removed from reality”. Aristotle, on the other hand, has positive note on aesthetics because he sees art as representation of Forms or of truth.

From these two ancient philosophers, the debate and conceptualization of aesthetics has transformed greatly in different periods. Friedrich Nietzsche posits that aesthetics is a means of preservation, meaning, beauty for him is encapsulated in terms of life prolongation. Leo Tolstoy postulated that aesthetics is based on peasant artistry because these workers understand the beauty of life. The complexities of aesthetics have metamorphosized throughout the progression of different civilizations and epochs of philosophy. In line with this, contemporary aestheticians like Jun’ichiro Tanizaki and Susanne K.

Langer joined the bandwagon to advance aesthetics epistemic views. And these contemporary philosophers agreed on one point, that aesthetics or the valuation of beauty, as well as, its intricacies, nuances and elements, is greatly influenced by geographic positioning. This assertion was deduced from the fact that in every period novel idea on aesthetics sprouted wherein this period shaped new debates on the topic at hand. In summation, each period in philosophy supplemented new keys on the development of philosophy.

In Tanizaki’s In Praise of Shadows, he juxtaposed Oriental aestheticism to Western aestheticism wherein he highlighted the significance of going back to the remnants of the past because it served as the defining moment of every stance on arts. He argued that one must embrace his own aesthetics even if it is tarnished and old because it is the precursor of one’s culture and tradition, and therefore, any concept of beauty from foreign culture must be disregarded altogether since it can eradicate the innate nature of one’s aesthetics. This is very prominent in the character of Tanizaki because when he was just a budding novelist he appreciated Western aestheticism, which has influenced his writing during those times, until he realized that he must represent Japanese concept of arts and beauty through literature.

Tanizaki conjectured that the key note in Japanese concept of beauty is founded on the ideas of shadow. The architectural blueprint of traditional Japanese highly embodies shadows manifested through the quiet and murky interiors, which emanates a nostalgic atmosphere due to the independent existence and presence of shadows.  Tanizaki reinforced his idea of shadow in the articulateness of beauty in the form of polished tableware, temple toilets, kimonos, and Japanese stage, which are highly affected by the intensity of its dark spectrum.

In lieu to this, Tanizaki pointed out that if light was applied on Japanese aesthetics all of its essence will diminish because light is the attribute of Western aestheticism, and likewise will happen if darkness was incorporated to Western arts. His basis on the above mentioned arguments is embedded on his credence on the delineation of Western culture and Japanese culture. According to Tanizaki, Western citizens in ancient times give importance to gold because it emanates unspeakable beauty when candlelight reflects it. On the other hand, Japanese people vehemently dislike light because it exposes the imperfection of their own white skin. According to Thomas J. Harper (translator of In Praise of Shadows), Tanizaki distinguish Japanese aestheticism based on shadows because it shows an unfathomable yet beautiful reverence and somberness, which is lacking in the magnificently lit arts of the West.

Like Tanizaki, Langer also believed that one’s perception of aesthetics is dependent of his geographic positioning. At the first chapter of her book entitled Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite, and Art, she defined philosophy as “characterized more by the formulation of its problems than by its solutions of them”[1], which implies that each groups or societies see things in different perspectives and in their perception of things, they have their own understanding of what they see and have their own questions about it. Therefore, when it comes to beauty or aesthetics definitive schema, each society has the authority to posit their own stance about it, and mostly their stance is deeply rooted in culture and tradition.

Tanizaki’s key of aesthetics is logically plausible in Langer’s philosophy since she espoused a relativistic means of understanding the nature of things and the contingency of the universe, in context with aesthetics. But Langer has her own philosophic inclination on beauty, wherein her key is discourse and representation. For Langer, aesthetics expresses the emotive form of arts through symbols and logic. But it must be noted that she saw that the main problem in expressing aesthetic is the means of expressing it. According to her, music possesses a degree of mood or emotion towards the meaning of life wherein it represents a form of epistemic valuation and truth. This music that embodies a certain feeling of purely perceptible matters can be expressed in innumerable manners, but the musician has to figure out which manner because wrong choice of manner will annihilate the content of its emotion and its purity.

In toto, Langer saw philosophy as perpetually progressing, as well as aesthetics, because different epochs have either discovered or created a new key to elucidate the universe. She purported that the fecundity of new keys in the philosophical realm will always exists because human understanding is innately transformational. Unlike most philosophers like Bertrand Russell who argued that novel ideas in philosophy is impossible because what is left to humanity is to recycle old philosophies, Langer believed that the pasts has influenced on our present cogito but it does not necessarily follow that it will shape the present landscape of philosophizing. The point is that man’s rationality is not fixed; therefore present and future generation can discover or create a new motif of intellectual intercourse, which will eventually define the philosophy of their period.

Tanizaki and Langer’s philosophies on aesthetics are significant because of its willingness and openness to the possibility of new keys, in terms of new perspectives and theories. It broadens the horizon of philosophical enterprise since new schemes and conceptualizations are doomed to realization. The only danger on their stance on the concept of “new keys” is that it jeopardized the universality of things, specifically of aesthetics or beauty. Their postulate that aesthetics valuation is based on geographic positioning or dependent of one’s social constructs breathes relativism, meaning, every perspective on aesthetic is sound and valid, or to put it simply “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. And worse, the innateness of aesthetics seems impossible to be exposed because of diverse perceptions on it.

REFERENCE:

Langer, Susanne K. Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite, and Art 3rd edition ed: Harvard University Press, 1957.

Tanizaki, Junichiro. In Praise of Shadows. Trans. Charles Moore, Edward G. Seidensticker and Thomas J. Harper: Leetes Island Books 1980.

[1] Langer, Susanne. Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite, and Art.  Harvard University Press, 1957 p.4.