'Thinking of Spain in a flat way:' visiting Spain and Spanish cultural heritage through contemporary Japanese anime

This article contextualizes the representation of Spain and Spanish culture among Japanese cultural producers, particularly through the production of Japanese commercial animation (commonly named anime). Toward that goal, it provides a historical background of Japan-Spain relations within the context of the tourism industry, as well as some examples of the diverse forms of representation within several creative industries. Subsequently, the article reviews the ways in which popular culture has been contributed to national branding. There is special attention to the Spanish case and the proliferation of such images sometimes resulting in the (mis)representation of Spain's tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Internationally-distributed anime productions will be examined as a reflection of Spanish national branding on Japanese audiences and this global industry. Three cases among contemporary anime productions have been selected due to the combination of fictional and misrepresented Spanish cultural features in their narratives

Sigma Model Corrections to the Confining Background

Sigma model ($\alpha^{\prime}$) corrections to the confining string background are obtained. The main result is that the Poincar\'e invariant ansatz is maintained. Physical conditions for the dissapearance of the naked singularity are discussed.Comment: LaTeX,12 page

Economies of Scale and Spatial Scope in the European Airline Industry

In this article we use four different indices to measure cost performance of the European Airline Industry. By using the number of routes as an indicator of Network Size, we are able to estimate indicators of Economies of Scale and Spatial Scope. By estimating total and variable cost functions we are also able to calculate an index of the excess capacity of the firms. For this purpose, we use data from the years 1984 to 1998, a period during which several deregulation measures were imposed on the European airline industry. Some of the implications of this deregulation process for the cost performance of the industry are presented and discussed. Our results suggest that in the year 1998, almost all the firms had Economics of Density in their existing networks, while several of the firms also had Economies of Scale and Economies of Spatial Scope. All of the firms had excess capacity of fixed inputs. These results support our hypothesis that fusion, alliance, and merger strategies followed by the principal European airlines after 1998 are not just explained by marketing strategies, but also by the cost structure of the industry.

Principles for Consciousness in Integrated Cognitive Control

In this article we will argue that given certain conditions for the evolution of bi- \ud ological controllers, these will necessarily evolve in the direction of incorporating \ud consciousness capabilities. We will also see what are the necessary mechanics for \ud the provision of these capabilities and extrapolate this vision to the world of artifi- \ud cial systems postulating seven design principles for conscious systems. This article \ud was published in the journal Neural Networks special issue on brain and conscious- \ud ness

Towards a Shared Control Navigation Function:Efficiency Based Command Modulation

This paper presents a novel shared control algorithm for robotized wheelchairs. The proposed algorithm is a new method to extend autonomous navigation techniques into the shared control domain. It reactively combines user’s and robot’s commands into a continuous function that approximates a classic Navigation Function (NF) by weighting input commands with NF constraints. Our approach overcomes the main drawbacks of NFs -calculus complexity and limitations on environment modeling- so it can be used in dynamic unstructured environments. It also benefits from NF properties: convergence to destination, smooth paths and safe navigation. Due to the user’s contribution to control, our function is not strictly a NF, so we call it a pseudo-navigation function (PNF) instead.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Process Optimization Towards The Development Of An Automated Cnc Monitoring System For A Simultaneous Turning And Boring Operation

Manufacturing operations generate revenue by adding value to material through machine work and the cost associated with part production hinders the maximum profit available. In order to remain competitive, companies invest in research to maximize profit and reduce waste of manufacturing operations. This results in cheaper products for the customer without sacrificing quality. The purpose of this research was to identify machine settings of an Okuma LC 40 Turning Center and optimize the cost of machining in terms of tool cost and energy consumption while maintaining part quality at a productive cycle time. Studying the relationship between energy consumption, tool life, and cycle time with the speed and feed settings through statistical Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) method will allow the production plant to make profitable financial decisions concerning simultaneous turning operation of forged chrome-alloy steel. The project was divided into three phases; the first phase began with a literature survey of sensors used in current manufacturing research and the adaptation of our sensors to the Okuma LC 40 turning center. Then, phase II used design of experiments to identify spindle speed and feedrate settings that optimize multiple responses related to the turning process. The result was a saving in energy consumption (kWh) by 11.8%, a saving in cutting time by 13.2% for a total cost reduction from $1.15 per tool pass to$1.075 per tool pass. Furthermore, this work provides the foundation for phase III to develop an intelligent monitoring system to provide real-time information about the state of the machine and tool. For a monitoring system to be implemented in production, it should utilize cost effective sensors and be nonintrusive to the cutting operatio

WATER COMMODIFICATION IN THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS

The lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas is one of the poorest regions with the largest population lacking suitable water supply in the entire United States. The region is characterized by low-income, rural and peri-urban communities called ―colonias.‖ Nearly half of the 238,000 colonia residents face known infrastructure deficiencies in water, sanitation, or both, while nearly one-fifth have unknown water and sanitation status. The commodification of water quality through water vendors has expanded rapidly throughout South Texas, questioning their motives for positioning their businesses in certain locations. We will explore the relationship between poverty and water vending through a spatial analysis using a Geographic Information System. Our analysis revealed significant correlations between demographic variables and water vending unit locations. The spatial distribution was strong in relation to colonia locations, confirming the belief that water companies placed water vending units for the region’s poor communities

Do marketing margins change with food scares?: Examining the effects of food recalls and disease outbreaks in the us red meat industry

This paper examines the impact of food scares on marketing margins in the US beef and pork industry. We analyze how market stresses induced by different food recalls and disease outbreaks affect price margins and the extent of price transmission at the slaughter-to-wholesale and wholesale-to-retail levels. We use monthly data for the period 1986–2008. The results indicate that marketing margins are differentially affected by Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recalls and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreaks at different levels of the beef and pork marketing chain, although the effects are generally quite modest. Only BSE discoveries in the United States considerably affect marketing margins in the beef industry, specifically at the wholesale-to-retail level, as well as the extent of price transmission at the bottom of the beef and pork marketing channel. We also find that food safety incidents have minor cross-industry and cross-country effects on marketing margins.marketing margins, price transmission, food recalls, BSE outbreaks, red meat industry,

How far do shocks move across borders?: Examining volatility transmission in major agricultural futures markets

This paper examines the level of interdependence and volatility transmission across major exchanges of maize, wheat, and soybeans in the United States, Europe, and Asia. We follow a multivariate GARCH approach to explore in detail and under different specifications the dynamics and cross-dynamics of volatility in agricultural futures markets. We account for the potential bias that may arise when considering exchanges with different closing times. The period of analysis is 2004–2009 for maize and soybeans and 2005–2009 for wheat. The results indicate that there is a strong correlation among international markets. In particular, we find both own- and cross-volatility spillovers and dependence between most of the exchanges. There is also higher interaction between the United States (Chicago) and both Europe and Asia than within the latter. The results further show the major role Chicago plays in terms of spillover effects over the other markets, particularly for maize and wheat. For soybeans, both China and Japan also exhibit important cross-volatility spillovers. Finally, the level of interdependence between exchanges has not necessarily increased in recent years for all commodities. From a policy perspective, these findings suggest that any potential regulatory scheme to address (excessive) price volatility in agricultural exchanges should be coordinated across markets; localized regulation will have limited effects given the high level of interrelation between markets.volatility transmission, agricultural commodities, futures markets, multivariate GARCH,

The Anime Boom in the United States. Lessons for Global Creative Industries by Michal Daliot-Bul and Nissim Otmazgin. Reviewed by Manuel Hernandez-Perez.

Hernández-Pérez, M. (2020). The Anime Boom in the United States. Lessons for Global Creative Industries by Michal Daliot-Bul and Nissim Otmazgin. Reviewed by Manuel Hernandez-Perez. International Journal of Communication, 14, 5001-5003. doi:1932–8036/2020BKR000