Folk music: from local to national to global

This chapter traces the shifting situation and nature of Japanese folk music from ‘traditional’ times to the present day. Topics covered include: importation of the European concept of ‘the folk’; distinction between folk song (min’yō) and folk performing arts (minzoku geinō); folk music in the traditional community; music and local identity, past and present (e.g. local vs national identity; folk music’s role in ‘community building’ in modern Japan); professionalization, commodification, folklorization, secularization and the emergence of stage performances; musical change and the Western impact (e.g. fusion); the rise in popularity of wadaiko, Tsugaru-jamisen and Okinawan music; research history and trends

Context and change in Japanese music

Although Japan is often portrayed as culturally and ethnically highly homogeneous, its music culture has long been extremely diverse, especially so with modernization and globalization. Thus we begin by problematizing the term ‘Japanese music’. We then aim to provide broad historical, cultural and theoretical contexts within which to understand the subsequent genre-specific chapters, by introducing a range of cross-cutting topics, issues and research perspectives - for example: Japan’s interactions with other cultures throughout history; sociocultural contexts of each genre, including issues of patronage, audiences, class and gender; social structures and mechanisms of transmission; music theory in Japan; aesthetic concepts; and research culture. We conclude with a view into the musical future, considering the impact of educational policies, globalization and so forth

CCD imaging of the inner coma jets of comet P/Halley

We analyze the inner coma section of a CCD image of comet P/Halley taken at 1807 UT on 13 March 1986 using a C2 filter (wavelength 5000 to 5200A, half maximum) with the 3.8 m Anglo Australian Telescope at Siding Springs, Australia. Atmospheric turbulence leads to a spreading of the image detail and this produces a blander image of the inner coma region with a slower radial decrease of brightness in comparison to the unaffected image. We remove this smearing by utilizing the point spread function of a star on the same CCD image. Jets were then revealed by removing the average background. Analysis of the jet structure enabled us to estimate the lower limit of the parent molecule velocity. This is found to be 0.3 km s(exp -1)

Not quite the 'Great Britain of the Far East': Japan's security, the US-Japan alliance and the 'war on terror' in East Asia

Japan, in responding to US expectations for support in the 'war on terror', has displayed a degree of strategic convergence on global security objectives, thus prompting policy-makers and observers to dub it the 'Great Britain of the Far East'. This article argues, however, that Japan is far from assuming this role. For Japan, the 'war on terror' serves more as a political pretext for legitimating long-planned changes in military security policy that are often only marginally related to the US's anti-terrorism agenda. Instead, Japan has focused much more on using the terror threat rationale as a means to push forward its response to the regional and traditional security challenges of North Korea and China, even if at times it attempts to depict both as 'new security challenges' or as involving elements of counterterrorism. The final conclusion is that US military hegemony may be weakened by Japan's and the Asia-Pacific's potential divergence from the US global security agenda

EVALUATING THE IMPACTS OF AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS ON A REGIONAL ECONOMY

Agricultural exports are important to many regional economies, as is the case for agricultural exports wither produced in or shipped through Louisiana. A hybrid (revised and verified) IMPLAN model of the Louisiana economy is used to estimate the direct and indirect impact of agricultural exports. Original model estimates of foreign exports lacked holistic (overall) accuracy. However, other, more general uses of the model were unaffected by this lack of accuracy. While the contributions of agricultural exports to the state economy were substantial, impacts were concentrated in unprocessed products. Increasing the export of processed agricultural products should enhance economic activity.Agricultural exports, Holistic accuracy, IMPLAN, Input-output models, Processed exports, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Relations/Trade,

A COMPARISON OF THE SIZE AND LOCATION OF AGRIBUSINESS INDUSTRIES FOR LOUISIANA AND ITS PARISHES: 1982-1992

The objective of this study is to measure and analyze the effects of structural change in the agribusiness sector on parish economies in Louisiana. Specific objectives are: (1) to measure changing patterns of employment in Louisiana's agribusiness sector, (2) to analyze the impacts of structural change on the contribution of agribusiness to total employment in individual parishes, and (3) to identify any rural-to-urban or urban-to-rural shifts in the geographic location of employment resulting from structural changes in agribusiness industries.Labor and Human Capital, Agribusiness,

REASONABLE VALUE AND THE ROLE OF NEGOTIATION IN AGRICULTURE'S USE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Social pressures to regulate agriculture's use of environmental resources have been building for many years and show no signs of abating. While the agricultural and environmental communities can react to these events in many ways, perhaps the most promising avenue for resolving joint agricultural and environmental disputes lies with negotiated regulations mediated by governmental agencies. When first conceived by Commons, negotiated regulation was seen as a way to achieve both efficient and equitable dispute resolution by directly using the preferences, skills, and operational knowledge of stakeholders. This approach should be attractive to the agricultural community because it provides an opportunity to educate environmental groups about the complexities facing modern agriculture. It also assures that private business interests are considered in the development of regulations, and should result in regulations that give dynamic flexibility to the way environmental standards are achieved. In today's litigious society, negotiated regulations may also reduce many transaction costs associated with agricultural and environmental issues, particularly those associated with contract development and enforcement. Ultimately, negotiated regulations may be the best hope for satisfying the dual social objectives of a clean environment and an economically viable agricultural sector.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Particle-Surface Interaction Model and Method of Determining Particle-Surface Interactions

A method and model of predicting particle-surface interactions with a surface, such as the surface of a spacecraft. The method includes the steps of: determining a trajectory path of a plurality of moving particles; predicting whether any of the moving particles will intersect a surface; predicting whether any of the particles will be captured by the surface and/or; predicting a reflected trajectory and velocity of particles reflected from the surface