Specialities of Japanese Television Advertising

Japan’s advertising industry is the third largest in the world, nevertheless relatively unknown in the West. This article discusses often-cited specialties of Japanese advertising and analyzes whether these are really special to Japan or based solely on the referent system of the United States or some form of exoticization by foreign scholars and/or self-exoticization by the Japanese. This discussion of previous literature in English and Japanese language will be backed up by results from our own content analysis. Some of the discussed specialties include, for example, the dominance of 15-second ads and celebrities, atmospheric ads, and the non-existence of comparative advertising. This article tries to debunk myths about Japanese advertising and its so-called specialties. We argue for a more holistic approach, since only knowing also the media of other countries makes it possible to speak about specialties of a country’s media. Thus more comparative research is necessary.Japan’s advertising industry is the third largest in the world, nevertheless relatively unknown in the West. This article discusses often-cited specialties of Japanese advertising and analyzes whether these are really special to Japan or based solely on the referent system of the United States or some form of exoticization by foreign scholars and/or self-exoticization by the Japanese. This discussion of previous literature in English and Japanese language will be backed up by results from our own content analysis. Some of the discussed specialties include, for example, the dominance of 15-second ads and celebrities, atmospheric ads, and the non-existence of comparative advertising. This article tries to debunk myths about Japanese advertising and its so-called specialties. We argue for a more holistic approach, since only knowing also the media of other countries makes it possible to speak about specialties of a country’s media. Thus more comparative research is necessary

Assessment of Long Term Impacts of Cadmium and Lead Load to Agricultural Soils in the Upper Elbe and Oder River Basins

This report investigates effects of long term load of two heavy metals, cadmium and lead to agricultural soils for a project area in Central Europe. The time frame for the historic analysis is 1955 to 1994. The major source of lead is atmospheric deposition. In the case of cadmium, besides atmospheric deposition, agricultural activities, such as P-fertilizer and manuring, are additional sources of heavy metal input to agricultural soils. Extremely high depositions that were measured in a "hot spot" region in the project area are included in the analysis. A soil model is used to perform a quantitative analysis of potential accumulation or release of cumulative heavy metal loads. A GIS database enables us to undertake a regional analysis. Potential future risks are addressed in a scenario approach covering the time frame 1995 to 2050. For the majority of the project area there was no significant increase in cadmium and particularly lead soil concentration compared to background values and guidelines. The parts of the project area which had the highest cumulative cadmium deposition historic cadmium accumulation may be of concern. However these assessments related to long term suitability for agricultural food production depend on environmental criteria and the time frames taken into account. Locally, in hot spot areas, atmospheric deposition were and still are much higher and soil guideline values may be exceeded within 10 to 50 years. The cadmium mass balance for the project area covering the period 1955 to 1994 suggests that from the cumulative load of 3062t of cadmium (about two thirds from atmospheric deposition and one third from agricultural sources), one third is lost (836t) and two thirds are accumulated in the soil (2226t). Estimates of future atmospheric cadmium and lead deposition are low compared to historic depositions. Cumulative cadmium deposition during 1991 and 2010 is only 10 to 40% of the cumulative deposition during 1970 and 1990. The average lead deposition in 2010 is only 10% of the average deposition in the 70s or 80s. Due to declining pH-value, triggered by the abandonment of agricultural land and/or a conversion into forest in scenario 1, major releases of cadmium are expected. Even the maximum assumed deposition is not high enough to compensate cadmium loss due to declining pH-value. The extent of decrease depends mainly on the assumed initial concentration in 1994 because cumulative future atmospheric deposition is very low compared to the cadmium already stored in the soils at present. Scenario 2 assumes intensive agricultural production until 2050. Agricultural activities are now the major source of cadmium load to the soils. In most cases a study state will be reached, the maximum delta increase over the future 55 years is 0.08mg/kg. In both scenarios lead soil concentrations are likely to decrease slightly in the future due to losses via erosion, which exceed atmospheric deposition

Forgotten key workers: why migrant domestic carers deserve greater support

The Covid-19 pandemic has drawn attention to the role of key workers in providing essential services. Michael Leiblfinger and Veronika Prieler examine the case of migrant domestic carers, who perform a vital service in many European countries. They argue that while there has been a great deal of discussion about the service live-in carers provide, there has been relatively little done to improve their working conditions

Supporting the educational development of Slovak Roma pupils in Sheffield: The Roma Language and Education Tool (RoLET)

This study illustrates the development of the Roma Language and Education Tool (RoLET) as an analytical model for schools, teachers and other professionals working with newly arrived Slovak Roma pupils in the UK. The RoLET is based on the Traveller and Roma Gypsy Education Tool (TARGET), an analytical model developed by Wilkin et al. (2009b; 2010), combined with the findings of an empirical study conducted in a secondary school in Sheffield, as well as drawing on the broader literature on Gypsy Roma Traveller (GRT) and migration research. Based on the findings of the study, this report highlights that the TARGET model designed for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, does not entirely fit the specific situation of newly arrived Eastern European Roma pupils when entering the UK education system. It is argued that the situation of Eastern European Roma communities coming to the UK is different to ‘traditional’ GRT communities and can, rather, be compared with the experience of migrant groups coming from non-English speaking countries to the UK. Therefore, including Eastern European Roma communities under the GRT term is challenged in this study. A key purpose of this research is to support professionals working with newly arrived Eastern European Roma pupils in UK secondary schools by providing them with the RoLET that illustrates influential factors which need to be considered when developing strategies for improving the educational outcomes of Eastern European Roma pupils in the British education system

Spatial Patterns and Dynamic Mechanisms of Urban Land Use Growth in China: Case Studies in Beijing and Shanghai

Beijing and Shanghai are among those Chinese cities that have experienced substantial growth over the past decades. We analyze historic urban growth patterns in Beijing and Shanghai using detailed land use maps from different time points. For Beijing digital land use data are available for 1982, 1992 and 1997 with a scale of 1:100,000. In the case of Shanghai we use high-resolution data derived from earth observation for the years 1967, 1989 and 1999. With the implementation of economic reform and opening policy China introduced urban land reforms invoking major changes in urban growth dynamics. A conceptual framework of urban growth mechanisms in the Chinese context is presented. It includes driving forces and constraint factors and four mechanism of urban land conversion, namely administrative allocation, urban land market, unauthorized ("black") land market and land development for Town and Village Enterprises (TVEs). In Beijing industrial land expansion has been the dominant factor of urban growth. Land expansion for TVEs here is of particular importance. There are major divergences of actual urban growth patterns and those envisaged by development plans of the city. In Shanghai residential land increased significantly mostly at the expense of cultivated area. Road development was substantial. The high resolution of the land use data allows to present detailed land use conversion patterns

Temperature and Precipitation Variability in China - A Gridded Monthly Time Series from 1958 to 1988

Wide climatic variability is characteristic for large parts of China including events of extreme anomalies. This paper presents a time series covering the period 1958 to 1988 for monthly temperature and precipitation in China for a 5x5 km grid cell size. Monthly station histories (265 for temperature and 310 for rainfall), long-term averages of mean monthly temperature and rainfall on a 5 km grid, and a digital elevation mode (DEM) are the input data used to build the time series data base. Individual station anomalies in terms of deviation from the 31-year average were calculated and interpolated throughout China using the Mollifier interpolation technique. It uses a statistical approach to non-parametric interpolation. As a result data is available for monthly anomaly surfaces for all the years. By linking these to the long-term average grid maps we derive a time series of temperature and rainfall for China. Maps were produced for anomalies, and for absolute temperature and precipitation in each year between 1958 and 1988. Along with maps indicating variability at the stations, others have been completed based on the interpolated time series. Due to surface smoothing of the interpolation the variability of the interpolated time series is usually lower than the one based upon station observations. Temperature variability is quite low during the summer half. Anomalies are mostly less than 2 C in nearly all of China. During the winter months the anomaly increases up to 6 C with the highest variability in modern China and on the plateau. the pattern of monthly anomalies is stable in that relatively large areas show the same trend of deviation. Variability of rainfall shows large differences in spatial and temporal terms. Rainfall variability is highest during winter when rainfall is low. Especially the monthly data offer a comprehensive insight into seasonal differences in regional rainfall variability. In northern China's agricultural productive areas variability is high during the spring months, decreases in summer and increases as of September. In the middle and lower reaches of the Changjiang river basin variability is high in July and August amounting to as much as over 50%. Variability is relatively low in Southwest China, which includes the fertile Sichuan basin. Also in China's northeastern agricultural areas variability is relatively low during the growing season. From a policy point of view it is also of interest to aggregate the data for certain geographic regions. Results for provinces and major watersheds are presented. The interpolated surfaces are validated by comparing them with the station observations available in this study. Anomaly surfaces validation is determined by the interpolation error. There is a good fit for temperature anomaly surfaces compared to observed station anomalies. Because of the high spatial variability of rainfall anomalies including the possibility of extreme events in selected stations, interpolated anomalies are usually reduced during the interpolation. The temperature and rainfall time series validation is, in addition by the interpolation error, influenced by the differences in the 31-year average observed at the stations and the average presented in the long-term average grids to which the anomaly surfaces are linked

Assessment of Potential Productivity of Tree Species in China, Mongolia and the Former Soviet Union: Methodology and Results

Over the past twenty years, the term agro-ecological zones methodology (AEZ) has become widely used for global regional and national assessments of agricultural potentials. The AEZ methodologies and procedures have recently been extended and newly implemented to make use of the latest digital geographical databases, and to cope with the specific characteristics of seasonal temperate and boreal climates. This report presents details of a companion model of AEZ that enables assessments of potential productivity of forest tree species. It is referred to a FAEZ. The FAEZ methodology follows an environmental approach; it provides a standardized framework for the characterization of climate, soil and terrain conditions relevant to forest production and it uses environmental matching procedures to identify limitations of prevailing climate, soil and terrain for a range of tree species and assumed management objectives. The model for the estimation of biomass increments is based on two well established and robust models: the Chapman-Richard biomass increment model, and the AEZ potential biomass model. FAEZ includes an inventory of ecological adaptability characteristics as well as an inventory of specific ecological and environmental requirements for 52 boreal and temperate forest tree species. The natural resources inventory is based on the up-to-date LUC-GIS database of climate, soil, terrain and vegetation covering China, Mongolia and former Soviet Union. Results of potential productivity for tree species in North, Central and East Asia are presented under three different sets of assumptions of forest resources management and exploitation, namely: conservation forestry, traditional production forestry and biomass plantation forestry