NEWSLETTER BFI 20081231

[Bandung Fe Institute]

NEWSLETTER BANDUNG FE INSTITUTE (BFI)
December 31st 2008

CONTENTS:
01. Presidential Speech of the new Research Year 2009
02. Indonesian Batik as Fractal
03. New Book for Indonesian Readers: "Complex Indonesian Outlook 2008"
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01. Presidential Speech of the new Research Year 2009

Coleagues, friends, and competitors,
a new year is coming and it means that we are a year older in age, but
it could be a year wiser in research and comprehension about
complexities surrounding us. A lot of things have become the
inspiration for researches in the institute while the researches are
intended for inspiring for better living. Only by better understanding
on life, one’s life can be interesting.

This year has been a fascinating years on research for the research
since we are welcoming new fresh and young researher in the board, Mr.
Ardian Maulana in the Dept. Computational Sociology with focus study
the complex political and voting systems. In the mean time, we also
nod to the internship of Mr. Hoferdy Zawani with great expectation he
can also join the team in the same department focusing on studies to
social and economic risk management. The institute also wish better
and more focus research by appointing Mr. Deni Khanafiah to be the new
member of the Board of Science. He is expected to expand the research
field of the institute by forming the Dept. Evolutionary Economics
along with Rolan Mauludy. This department shall be responsible for the
analytical approaches in the new independent activity center,
Indonesian Archipelago Culture Initiatives. This association is
focusing in broad activities related to the studies of culture,
innovation, memetic researches, and its impact to the better
understanding of the evolution of economic system. The Indonesian
Archipelago Culture Initiatives is an open activity center collecting
cultural data and disseminating the new perspective of appreciation
into it in the realization of culture as a complex adaptive system as
well as becoming the backbone of the whole society. A lot of
challenging researches related to the cultural diversity, creativity,
and general economic studies are the playing field of the department.
We understand as the largest maritime country in the world, Indonesia
promises this can be embraced and inspiring the world in the sense of
social complexity studies.

The fascinating year of 2008 has also celebrated the book “Solusi
untuk Indonesia”, a popular book launched in May with tons of research
based comprehension related to the country and alternative points of
view solving its social problems in the sense of complexity sciences.
Regarding to the work of complex cultural analysis signed by the
establishment of the new Dept. Evolutionary Economics, the institute
has also launched the appreciation of a well-known Indonesian
traditional heritages, “batik”, modeled and analyzed as fractal. A
milestone after observing the interesting aesthetics more than two
years for now in the Dept. Computational Sociology and Dept. Dynamical
System Modeling.

However, the year 2008 also left us with a challenge in our global
economic situation facing some crisis that has possibility to be
continued in the next year. This is the challenge when researchers of
the institute developing and presenting Research Plans for the next
semester. A challenge added by the fact that the country is holding
the moments for democracy in the General Election 2009.

Those issues are nonetheless interdependent each other, and demanding
better quality of research results for the institute in the next year.
Some works in the year 2008, however, has conjectured them. It is the
time that complexity studies sharpen the policy making in the country,
while the love for humanity can be reflected for making better home of
Indonesia as a developing country in a lot of sectors of social
living.

On behalf of all researchers in the institute, I thank you all for
support as readers, fans, dear friends and even competitors pushing us
to the limit for the best research results. It is our goal to enhance
our understanding of our complex living and civilization. This
understanding is expected directly invigorates the better and
responsible policy making, a spirit carries on in the heart of all our
researchers and want to be spreading to all of us, the fan of social
complexity studies.

Again and again, I thank you for your support and prayers in any ways.
Let us shape the better tommorrow by reflection of todays and
evaluation of yesterdays. Have a good and promising new year 2009. The
past has been good, the future is promising, as the present is a gift;
that is why we call it “present”, yes?

Happy New Year and never let grief on hardship erodes our optimisim
for the better future.


Hokky Situngkir
President
~ ~ ~

02. Indonesian Batik as Fractal
Indonesia is a very large country not only by its spreading from north-
south and west-east geographically bu even larger in its diversity of
cultural heritages. One of them is what we know as "Batik". A cultural
product on textiles well-known to be strongly related to Javanese
Culture but yet shows up in a lot of other places in Indonesia, e.g.:
Jambi, Dayak, and so on. Two highlighted research papers related to
Indonesian Batik has been presented this year - detailed research
which has been generally conjectured in the institute since long. The
first was related to the generative art of batik motif designs while
the latter discusses the acquisition of the so-called Iterated
Function System into batik basic motif designs. These two papers have
motivated to dedicate a subdomain in the institute webpage where
readers can actually delve into the development of the computationally
generated batik motif designs by themselves. The website is designed
and written in Indonesian though, since it is presented to be read by
Indonesian people in the way to acquire knowledge on fractals and
properties to daily life and cultural heritage appreciation. However,
there is no intention to limit readers since the simulation in the
applet can still be enjoyed by anyone. The web address is:

http://fraktal.bandungfe.net/

filled with some introduction about fractal theories and its related
to the geometry of batik and how we can see wisdoms through Indonesian
diverse cultural heritages. Some examples can also be accessed with
Java-enabled internet browsers.

The two papers invigorated the web presentation is available for free
download in the institute's working paper series page, yet you must be
a registered visitor to ba able to access them.

The first paper is entitled "The computational generative patterns in
Indonesian batik" which discusses the terminology behind batik
crafting and showed the aspects of self-similarity in its ornaments.
Even though a product of batik cannot be reduced merely into its
decorative properties, it is shown that computation can capture some
interesting aspects in the batik-making ornamentation. There are three
methods that can be exploited to the generative batik, i.e.: using
fractal as the main source of decorative patterns, the hybrid batik
that is emerged from the acquisition of L-System Thue-Morse algorithm
for the harmonization within the grand designs by using both fractal
images and traditional batik patterns, and using the random image
tessellation as well as previous tiling algorithms for generating
batik designs. The latest can be delivered by using a broad sources of
motifs and traditionally recognized graphics. The paper concludes with
certain aspects that shows how the harmony of traditional crafting and
modern computation could bring us a more creative aspects of the
beautiful harmony inherited in the aesthetic aspects of batik
crafting.

The paper can be downloaded in:
http://www.bandungfe.net/?go=xpg&&crp=48764471

The second one is entitled "Deconstructing Javanese Batik Motif: When
Traditional Heritage Meets Computation" discusses some aspects of
Iterated Function System while referring to some interesting point of
view into Indonesian traditional batik. The deconstruction is
delivered in our recognition of the Collage Theorem to find the affine
transform of the iterated function system that attracts the iteration
of drawing the dots into the complex motif of – or at least, having
high similarity to – batik patterns. We employ and revisit the well-
known Chaos Game to reconstruct after having some basic motifs is
deconstructed. The reconstruction of the complex pattern opens a quest
of creativity broadening the computationally generated batik
exploiting its self-similarity properties. A challenge to meet the
modern computational generative art with the traditional batik designs
is expected to yield synergistically interesting results
aesthetically. The paper concludes with two arrows of our further
endeavors in this field, be it enriching our understanding of how
human cognition has created such beautiful patterns and designs
traditionally since ancient civilizations in our anthropological
perspective while in the other hand providing us tool to the
empowerment of batik as generative aesthetics by employment of
computation.

The paper can be downloaded in:
http://www.bandungfe.net/?go=xpg&&crp=493c27ad


03. New Book for Indonesian Readers: "Complex Indonesian Outlook 2008"
New Book on Indonesian Complexity is now available in local book
stores in all Indonesian region! The book entitled "SOLUSI UNTUK
INDONESIA" is a book for Indonesian readers presenting a perspective
on complexity while observing and comprehending Indonesia. The book
compiles research conjectures while proposing a new perspective for
Indonesians while sees their own country in a great expectation gives
an enrichment for the development of social sciences for the
betterment of the country and the whole humanity.

In the book the proposal for new "Wawasan Nusantara" (the way
Indonesian look at Indonesia) is presented. The age of complexity
should have changed the way we look and observe in order to be able to
have alternative solutions for the betterment. The book is now
available in your local (Indonesian) book stores, or you might want to
contact the publisher to have one (c.p.Yohanis: +62 21 70227545 for
rapid service) or just contact us.

If you speak Indonesian, you might want to see the glance view of the
book contents in the following URL: http://bfinews.blogspot.com/2008/04/buku-solusi-untuk-indonesia.html

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BFI Administration
Bandung Fe Institute
Sarijadi Blok 5 No. 151
Bandung 40151
JAWA BARAT
INDONESIA
ph./fax: +62 22 2018232
http://www.bandungfe.net