The intercultural virtual dancing subject: a choreographic investigation of spatio structures In Japanese-Western cultural practice

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy (Research Institute for Media, Arts and Performance)The aim of this practice-led research is to question and examine the notion of a dancing body in two and three-dimensional spaces within the context of intercultural performance. The research will draw upon comparative analyses of Japanese and Western cultural tenets, and on how these inform specific examples of dance making. The overarching goal is to test choreographically and then theorize an intercultural meeting point in relation to space and time, which highlights exchanges and tension between Japanese and Western in modern day dance making. It is hoped that such test and theorization will stimulate, in turn, advancements in the creation of a unique form of Japanese-Western dance performance. As reported above, this research is practice-based, and develops from questioning a number of issues relating to conflicted discourses which inform current notions of dance and technology. Firstly, it explores the presentation and identity of a dancing body in two dimensions, questioning whether the creative process of choreographic experiences of three dimensions can be negotiated and presented in two dimensions - so that ‘actual’ and ‘virtual’ spaces can be blurred. Said questioning, will both move from and rely on an intercultural perspective in negotiating the spatial interplay between the live performance and screen, to then formulate the mentioned intercultural meeting point within the dance works, where two distinctive cultures can co-exist and share their own values and characteristics without any hierarchical placing. Secondly, the research questions and challenges the applicability of Western theories and practices to Japanese culture. Being based on a process of active dialogue between theory and practical experimentation, and being written by a citizen of Japan who lives in Western Europe, this research constantly reflects on how the non-Western author needs to negotiate Western cultural forms and practices with her embodied cultural preference as a dance artist. Consequently, this work suggests a potentially different approach by formulating a model of a virtual dancing body that both resides within and goes beyond boundaries of existing intercultural performance theory

Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopic Studies on Alveolar Bone Remodeling with Orthodontic Tooth Movement and Retention

Alveolar bone reconstruction in growing dog during the retention period following orthodontic tooth movement was studied. Three beagle dogs (8-10 kg body weight, about one-year-old) were used and two of the animals were subjected to histological observation. The upper 2nd and lower 3rd premolars on both sides were extracted prior to the orthodontic treatments. After a healing period of one month, the upper 3rd premolar and the lower 4th premolar on the right side were moved mesially with a conventional orthodontic force for 8 weeks, and then retained in their new position for 4 weeks. The contralateral corresponding premolars were used as control. The alveolar bone was double-labeled with tetracycline (TC) during the movement and calcein (Cal) during the retention period. Alveolar bone structure and labeling patterns were examined by contact microradiography, conventional fluorescence microscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Optimizing the separation of TC and Cal labelings in the alveolar bone was attained by the simultaneous use of ultraviolet (364 nm) and argon (488 nm) laser sources for excitation of TC and Cal, respectively. Cal labeling, indicative of new bone deposition showed two distinct patterns: lamination at the periodontal surface and rings circumscribing the vascular canal. The cementum surface also exhibited active deposition during the experimental period. Bone formation was affected by slight changes in magnitude and direction of orthodontic or occlusal forces. CLSM is valuable in deciphering the process of alveolar bone remodeling

Clinical factors underlying a single surgery or repetitive surgeries to treat superior oblique muscle palsy

The purpose of this study is to know clinical factors underlying either a single surgery or repetitive surgeries, required to treat superior oblique muscle palsy. Retrospective review was made on 246 consecutive patients with idiopathic (n = 212) or acquired (n = 34) superior oblique muscle palsy who underwent surgeries in 8 years at one institution. Idiopathic palsy included congenital and decompensated palsies while acquired palsy included traumatic and ischemic palsies. Clinical factors, compared between groups with a single surgery (n = 203) and two or more surgeries (n = 43), were surgical methods, sex, age at surgery, horizontal, vertical, and cyclotorsional deviations, and stereopsis at near fixation. Inferior oblique muscle recession on paretic side was chosen in about 60% of the single-surgery and repetitive-surgery group as an initial surgery, followed by inferior rectus muscle recession on non-paretic side. The age at surgery was significantly older, vertical and cyclotorsional deviations were significantly larger in the repetitive-surgery group, compared with the single-surgery group (P = 0.01, P < 0.001, P = 0.02, Mann-Whitney U-test, respectively). The 95% confidence interval of vertical deviations was 15-17 prism diopters in the single-surgery group and 23-28 prism diopters in the repetitive surgery group. Significant differences in vertical deviations were replicated also in subgroups of patients with either idiopathic or acquired palsy. In conclusions, the 95% confidence interval of vertical deviations, determined by alternate prism and cover test, would be used as a common benchmark for predicting either a single surgery or repetitive surgeries, required to treat idiopathic and acquired superior oblique muscle palsy, in the process of obtaining the informed consent

Firm-Specific Human Capital and Employment Period

Lifetime employment and employee training within large enterprises are distinctive features of the Japanese employment system. Young people mainly have been hired by large enterprises immediately after graduation, and their career paths are based on Japanese employment practices. We consider whether firm-specific human capital and employment period have made Japanese companies grow. We use risk of obsolescence to analyze the relationship between firm-specific training and employment period. We find that firms that yield large returns on training investment employ regular workers for long periods but firms that yield small returns on training investment employ regular workers for short periods

Advertising and Services of Retail Shops in Spatial Competition

Consumers purchase various goods at retail shops. Because products sold at such shops are homogeneous, the advertising of these shops causes spillover effects and each retailer would have incentive to become a free rider. We consider that services offered by retail shops differentiate these shops, in which case, advertising of their services would not have spillover effects. We analyze the advertising of retail shops in spatial competition and prove that advertising of their services expands market share when these shops supply original services. Moreover, we consider the services that retailers offer as effective methods of competing against internet shopping

Temporary Employment in Japan : A Cross-national Perspective

Many temporary employment workers in Japan currently labor under severe employment conditions, such as very low wages, overtime work, and exclusion from workers compensation. However, in most Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, employment conditions are better than those in Japan. Therefore, we believe it would be significant to determine the factors that influence Japan’s temporary workers to labor under severe employment conditions. We estimate temporary employment functions in OECD countries by analyzing panel data for the period 2000-2011 and compare temporary employment in the European Union (EU) to that in Japan. The results of our analyses are as follows. (1) Employment protection legislation increases the rate of youth temporary employments and this is used for cost adjustments. (2) In OECD countries, part-time workers are used as a buffer against business fluctuations. (3) In the case of female regular workers in Japan, the 25-29 year age group is the largest, whereas in the EU, it is the 40-54 year age group. (4) In Japan, female temporary workers are almost equally distributed across all age groups. However, in the EU, the 40-54 year age group has the largest number of such workers. (5) The wage gap by employment contract and by gender is large in Japan

An analysis of advertising campaigns by distributors and manufacturers

Today, many electrical appliances are sold by distributors. Therefore, consumers can obtain information on various products from the distributors’ homepages on the Internet. Nonetheless, studies on how distributors influence manufacturers’ advertising strategies are scarce. In this paper, we highlight the spillover effects of advertising and the impact of distributors’ advertisements. The aim of this analysis is to clarify that distributors influence the advertising strategy of manufacturers. The results of the analysis indicate that some small manufacturers can earn profits without themselves advertising if many manufacturers produce similar goods

Long-Period Employment, Service Innovation, and Profit

Firms face various types of obsolescence risk. We posit that workers\u27 firm-specific experience increases labor productivity and prevents obsolescence. The return on firm-specific experience increases with employment period. However, no study has examined whether human resource development with a long-term vision drives business innovation and enables a firm to remain competitive. We use obsolescence risk to analyze the relationship between the returns on long-period employment and profit. We find that when firm-specific experience provides sufficiently large returns and the risk of obsolescence is low, the expected profit is greater for long-period employment than short-period employment

Euro Banknote Recognition System for Blind People

[EN] This paper presents the development of a portable system with the aim of allowing blind people to detect and recognize Euro banknotes. The developed device is based on a Raspberry Pi electronic instrument and a Raspberry Pi camera, Pi NoIR (No Infrared filter) dotted with additional infrared light, which is embedded into a pair of sunglasses that permit blind and visually impaired people to independently handle Euro banknotes, especially when receiving their cash back when shopping. The banknote detection is based on the modified Viola and Jones algorithms, while the banknote value recognition relies on the Speed Up Robust Features (SURF) technique. The accuracies of banknote detection and banknote value recognition are 84% and 97.5%, respectively.The work was supported by the project from the Generalitat Valenciana under the number GV/2014/015-Emergency projects.Dunai, L.; Chillarón-Pérez, M.; Peris Fajarnes, G.; Lengua, I. (2017). Euro Banknote Recognition System for Blind People. Sensors. 17(1)(184):1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/s17010184S11417(1)18

Detección del ADN de Mycobacterium leprae en secreción nasal

Studies have demonstrated high sensibility of the polimerase chain reaction (PCR) technique in the identification of the Mycobacterium leprae DNA . This study aimed to evalue the PCR sensibility at the detection of the M. leprae DNA in nasal swab of leprosy patients and to compare the results with the bacilloscopy and multibacillary (MBs) and paucibacilares (PBs) forms. Nasal secretion samples of 24 leprosy patients were collected, and were preserved in one and two lise's solution. The PCR results were highly significant (p <0.0000) and they revealed grater sensibility than bacilloscopy, in several clinical forms. Nevertheless, still different studies are necessary, testing new markers and preservatives, with the purpose of lifting up the sensibility of this technique, in nasal secretion samples.Estudos têm demonstrado alta sensibilidade da técnica da reação em cadeia de polimerase (PCR) na identificação do DNA do Mycobacterium leprae. Este estudo objetivou avaliar a sensibilidade da PCR na detecção do DNA do M. leprae em "swab" nasal de pacientes hansenianos e comparar os resultados com a baciloscopia e formas multibacilares (MBs) e paucibacilares (PBs). Foram coletadas amostras de secreção nasal de 24 pacientes hansenianos, conservadas em solução de lise um e dois. Os resultados da PCR foram altamente significativos (p<0.0000) e revelaram maior sensibilidade do que a baciloscopia, nas diversas formas clínicas. Contudo, são necessários ainda outros estudos, testando novos marcadores e conservantes, com o intuito de elevar a sensibilidade dessa técnica, em amostras de secreção nasal.Los estudios han demostrado una alta sensibilidad de la técnica de Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa (PCR) para identificar el ADN de Mycobacterium leprae. El objetivo del estudio fue evaluar la sensibilidad de la PCR en la detección de ADN de M. leprae en hisopo nasal de los pacientes hansenianos y comparar los resultados con la baciloscopía y las formas multibacilares (MBs) y paucibacilares (PBS). Se obtuvieron muestras de secreción nasal de 24 pacientes hansenianos, conservados en solución de lisis uno y dos. Los resultados de la PCR fueron muy significativas (p <0.0000) y mostró una mayor sensibilidad que la baciloscopía, en diferentes formas clínicas. Sin embargo, otros estudios son aún necesarios, el ensayo de nuevos marcadores y conservantes con el fin de aumentar la sensibilidad de esta técnica, en muestras de secreción nasal