An ontological approach to creating an Andean Weaving Knowledge Base

Andean textiles are products of one of the richest, oldest and continuous weaving traditions in the world. Understanding the knowledge and practice of textile production as a form of cultural heritage is particularly relevant in the Andean context due to erosion of clothing traditions, reuse of traditional textiles on commodities targeted at the tourism market, and loss of knowledge embedded in textile production. ``Weaving Communities of Practice'' was a pilot project that aimed to create a knowledge base of Andean weaving designed to contribute to curatorial practice and heritage policy. The research team gathered data on the chain of activities, instruments, resources, peoples, places and knowledge involved in the production of textiles, relating to over 700 textile samples. A major part of the project has been the modelling and representation of the knowledge of domain experts and information about the textile objects themselves in the form of an OWL ontology, and the development of a suite of search facilities to be supported by the ontology. This paper describes the research challenges faced in developing the ontology and search facilities, the methodology adopted, the design and implementation of the system, and the design and outcomes of a user evaluation of the system undertaken with a group of domain experts

Reflections on the painting of Alejandro Puente, the notion of <i>Pathosformel</i>, and the return to life of mortally wounded civilizations

The Argentine author José Burucúa is a key figure in the introduction and dissemination of Aby Warburg's theories to scholarship in Latin America. In this article he tests Warburg's concept of Pathosformel to discuss the development of visual culture in Andean pre-Hispanic art and contemporary painting in Argentina. It is argued that the abstract world created by prominent painters, such as Libero Badii, César Paternosto, and Alejandro Puente, deepened their roots in pre-Hispanic culture. Burucúa's theoretical approach to the arts in Argentina has been highly influential on visual culture studies in Latin America

Abstracts

Textile Society of America 10th Biennial Symposium 2006 October 11–14, 2006 Harbourfront Centre Toronto, Ontario A-

Abstracts

Textile Society of America 10th Biennial Symposium 2006 October 11–14, 2006 Harbourfront Centre Toronto, Ontario A-

Textile Society of America- Seventh Biennial Symposium 2000 WHOLE ISSUE

Approaching Textiles, Varying Viewpoints Proceedings of the Seventh Biennial Symposium of the Textile Society of America Santa Fe, New Mexico 2000 The papers are unedited and reproduced as submitted. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the author. Students and researchers wishing to cite specific authors are encouraged to contact those individuals, as many of these papers represent work in progress, or work which has been committed for publication elsewhere. Contents Prefac

2012 Final Program

Final Program Tuesday September 18, 2012 Wednesday September 19, 2012 Thursday September 20, 2012 Friday September 21, 2012 Saturday September 22, 2012 PRE-SYMPOSIUM WORKSHOPS Wednesday, September 19, 2012 POST-SYMPOSIUM TOURS Sunday, September 23, 2012 SITE SEMINARS Friday, September 21, 2012, between 1:00 and 4:00 P

Participation in Biocultural Diversity Conservation: Insights from Five Amazonian Examples

The past three decades have seen the emergence of myriads of initiatives focused on conserving, revitalizing, and maintaining Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) as part of biocultural approaches to conservation. However, the extent to which these efforts have been participatory has been often overlooked. In this chapter, we focus on five prominent ILK conservation initiatives in the Amazon Basin to examine the participation of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in ILK conservation. Our review illustrates several examples of ILK conservation initiatives offering substantial opportunities for meaningful IPLC participation over the long term. Overall, our case studies suggest that the development of robust and inclusive decision-making processes is essential to optimize IPLC participation in ILK conservation, thereby increasing the legitimacy of these initiatives. Our review is not an exhaustive account of the breadth and depth of all initiatives promoting participatory biocultural conservation in this region, but it illustrates that there are many strategies that can help foster IPLC engagement and lead the participatory turn in biocultural conservation.Peer reviewe

Livelihood Diversification In Coastal and Inland Fishing Communities: Misconceptions, Evidence and Implications for Fisheries Management

This is the working paper regarding the Sustainable Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (SFLP). Diversification is a process by which households engage in multiple income generating activities. It is widely seen in the academic literature and international development arena as a strategy for spreading risk and reducing vulnerability. The formulation of policies promoting diversification is thus encouraged at national levels to alleviate poverty. However, such policies involve delicate choices and trade-offs between government objectives of development, e.g. intensification of agriculture and increase in agricultural outputs to satisfy export markets, versus increased household well-being and resilience to adversity through the promotion of small-scale, household-based, activities. In the context of fisheries, diversification is promoted as a means for reducing dependence on the resource, making restrictive management easier and less controversial for those affected by such measures. This often interprets diversification as job-substitution (stop fishing, do something else) rather than adding other activities to an income-portfolio. With the tendency for increasing pressure on fishery resources, it becomes ever more necessary to address in a coherent way diversification and its links with both poverty reduction and responsible fisheries. Implications of the development of alternative or complementary activities alongside a main, resource-dependent activity such as fishing, may echo those experienced by sectors such as agriculture and pastoralism. However, many characteristics of the fishing activity and of those who engage in it are particular to the sector. General poverty alleviation policies and fisheries management schemes have been found to lack the necessary differentiation and to fail to cater for the specific needs of fishing communities (Smith et al. 2005). The lack of attention -- or misplaced attention through maladapted policies -- that the sector and the communities it supports have received so far can be traced to a number of misconceptions stemming from "the old paradigm on poverty in small-scale fisheries" (Béné, 2003, p950). These assumptions include that (after Béné 2003, Allison and Ellis 2001): -- Fishing is an ingrained activity in fishing communities and fishermen will not leave fishing for cultural reasons. -- Fishermen are specialised and carry out fishing on a professional basis only. -- Fishing is a last resort activity and fishermen are unable to diversify into other income-generating activities. -- Fisheries development and development of fishing communities is not possible without increasing fishing effort. -- Livelihood diversification in fishing communities cannot go hand in hand with a sustainable natural resources management that encompasses both sustainable fisheries management and poverty alleviation. It is the aim of this paper to challenge these assumptions. Because of its linkages with resource management, looking at diversification in fishing communities involves re-exploring the issue from a different perspective than its current interpretation and most widely-encountered application to agricultural (land-based)-livelihoods. Despite the potential broad remit of this task, the objective here is to remain focused on the necessity to dispel misconceptions and show the need to formulate policies that support the engagement of fisherfolk and their families in multiple activities. By doing so, the paper shall also provide a compilation and review of available information related to diversification in fishing communities and point out the complexity of the issue of diversification in these communities. The geographical scope of the paper is global, guided by the availability of case study material, though reference to the West African experiences of the Sustainable Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (SFLP) is made wherever possible. Unless expressed otherwise, the terms 'fisheries' or 'fishers' make implicit reference to artisanal fisheries and the small-scale operations and modus operandi of those relying on them

The pre-Columbian textile collection of the German Textile Museum Krefeld

The German Textile Museum in Krefeld houses a considerable collection of pre-Columbian textiles. Most originate from graves in the narrow arid area of the Peruvian coast. The original aim was to build an assemblage with the pedagogical and methodological intention of presenting a broad range of very different textile techniques in the education for the future textile workers of the industry in said region. With this intention in mind samples were gathered, and soon a few samples turned into an impressive collection in which almost all established pre-Columbian cultures and periods of the area of the Central Andes are represented. The Museum recently started a new research project within the South-American collection. The special aim of this project is a complete new restructuring of the collection, which means, first, the identification of all fragments as a part of a textile object and, second, the classification of the culture and the region they belonged to. El Museo Textil Alemán en Krefeld alberga una no tan bien conocida pero considerable colección de tejidos precolombinos. Casi todos estos tejidos provienen de tumbas ubicadas en una estrecha e árida zona de la costa peruana. El objetivo inicial detrás de esta colección era el de construir un conjunto de piezas con la intención pedagógica y metodológica de disponer de un amplio abanico de muestras de muy diferentes técnicas textiles para la formación de las nuevas generaciones de trabajadores textiles de la región. La motivación original de aquellos que iniciaron la labor recopilatorio condujo a la construcción de una impresionante colección, en la que están representadas casi todas las culturas y períodos precolombinos establecidos del área de los Andes Centrales. El Museo inició hace poco un nuevo proyecto de investigación en la colección de América del Sur. El objetivo específico de este proyecto es el de implementar una organización completamente nueva de toda la colección. Eso significa primero, la identificación de todos los fragmentos como parte de objetos textiles y, segundo, la clasificación según la cultura y la región a la que pertenecen. Objetivo de esta presentación es por un lado dar a conocer a un público mucho más amplio la existencia de esta colección de tejidos precolombinos, poniendo el foco de atención sobre algunas de sus piezas más reseñables. Le musée allemand du textile de Krefeld héberge une collection méconnue, mais non négligeable de textiles précolombiens. Ceux-ci proviennent presque entièrement de tombes localisées dans la zone étroite et aride de la côte péruvienne. L’objectif initial de cette collection était de réunir un ensemble de pièces afin de, sur un plan pédagogique et méthodologique, présenter un large éventail de techniques textiles très variées pouvant servir à la formation des futurs employés de l’industrie textile de la région. L’intention des collectionneurs qui ont commencé ce projet a abouti à la création d’une collection impressionnante dans laquelle la quasi-totalité des cultures et des époques précolombiennes établies de cette région des Andes centrales est représentée. Le musée a récemment lancé un nouveau projet de recherche de la collection sud-américaine. Le but principal de ce projet est la réorganisation complète de la collection, ce qui signifie premièrement l’identification de tous les fragments liés aux textiles et deuxièmement, la classification de la culture et de la région auxquelles ils appartiennent. Cette présentation vise à rendre publique l’existence de cette collection de textiles précolombiens et de mettre en lumière certains de ces éléments les plus importants

Sustainable Tourism and Indigenous Communities: The Case of Amantaní and Taquile Islands

When I embarked on my journey to Peru\u27s half of Lake Titicaca in the winter of 2008, I was not quite sure what to expect of myself or of the island communities I would be visiting. Preliminary research for this thesis described how the indigenous communities on Amantaní and Taquile Island were struggling to control tourism on their islands. I was, therefore, determined to be sensitive to their plight and not contribute to the patterns that led to their disenfranchisement. Apparently aware of the challenges facing the islanders, the Lonely Planet Guidebook stressed the importance of traveling with one of the island-operated boats and described the ease with which these boats could be found at the city of Puno\u27s docks, the main Peruvian city on the lake\u27s shores. Unfortunately, despite my best intentions, I succumbed depressingly easily to one of the many offers from agency-affiliated bus drivers, hotel employees and street or agency vendors who promised a magical and authentic experience of the Floating Islands of the Urus\u27, Amantaní and Taquile Island, conveniently packaged and organized into two days