Robot traders can prevent extreme events in complex stock markets

If stock markets are complex, monetary policy and even financial regulation may be useless to prevent bubbles and crashes. Here, we suggest the use of robot traders as an anti-bubble decoy. To make our case, we put forward a new stochastic cellular automata model that generates an emergent stock price dynamics as a result of the interaction between traders. After introducing socially integrated robot traders, the stock price dynamics can be controlled, so as to make the market more Gaussian.Stock markets; Robot traders; Financial regulation; Econophysics

Prenos slikovnih motivov na zahodno periferijo: Fuxi in Nüwa v grobnicah s poslikavo iz obdobja Wei Jin na območju prehoda Hexi

This paper examines the ways in which Fuxi and Nüwa were depicted inside the mural tombs of the Wei-Jin dynasties along the Hexi Corridor as compared to their Han counterparts from the Central Plains. Pursuing typological, stylistic, and iconographic approaches, it investigates how the western periphery inherited the knowledge of the divine pair and further discusses the transition of the iconographic and stylistic design of both deities from the Han (206 BCE–220 CE) to the Wei and Western Jin dynasties (220–316). Furthermore, examining the origins of the migrants on the basis of historical records, it also attempts to discuss the possible regional connections and migration from different parts of the Chinese central territory to the western periphery. On the basis of these approaches, it reveals that the depiction of Fuxi and Nüwa in Gansu area was modelled on the Shandong regional pattern and further evolved into a unique pattern formed by an iconographic conglomeration of all attributes and other physical characteristics. Accordingly, the Shandong region style not only spread to surrounding areas in the central Chinese territory but even to the more remote border regions, where it became the model for funerary art motifs. Based on both approaches, it reveals that the depiction of Fuxi and Nüwa in Gansu area was modelled on the Shandong regional pattern and further evolved into a unique pattern of an iconographic conglomeration of all attributes and other physical characteristics. Accordingly, the Shandong region style not only spread to surrounding areas in the central Chinese territory but even to the more remote border regions, where it became the model for funerary art motifs.Pričujoči prispevek v primerjalni perspektivi obravnava upodobitev Fuxija in Nüwe v grobnicah s poslikavo iz časa dinastij Wei in Zahodni Jin (220–316) iz province Gansu (območje prehoda Hexi) v odnosu do njune upodobitve v grobnicah s poslikavo iz časa dinastije Han (206 pr. n. št.–220 n. št.) v osrednjem kitajskem območju. Na osnovi tipoloških, stilističnih in ikonografskih pristopov proučuje, kako je zahodna periferija podedovala znanje o božanskem paru, ter prikaže prenos ikonografske in stilistične zasnove obeh božanstev iz dinastije Han v dinastiji Wei in Zahodni Jin. Prispevek nadalje s pomočjo zgodovinskih virov raziskuje izvore migrantov ter poskuša prikazati možne regionalne povezave in migracije iz različnih delov osrednje kitajske planjave na zahodno periferijo. Z uporabo teh pristopov se je pokazalo, da sta bili podobi Fuxija in Nüwe iz province Gansu oblikovani na osnovi regionalnega modela iz območja Shandong. V provinci Gansu sta se nato nadalje razvili v edinstveni ikonografski model, sestavljen iz različnih atributov in ostalih fizičnih karakteristik. Skladno s tem se regionalni model območja Shandong ni širil le v sosednja območja, temveč tudi v bolj oddaljene obmejne kraje, kjer je postal tipični model grobnim motivom

Navigating Jazz: Music, Place, and New Orleans.

Conceiving, historicizing, and analyzing the cultural creation of place as a contested musical act, this dissertation scrutinizes conventional understandings concerning the relationship between place and musical representation and proposes a new framework for interpreting relationships of music and place. Detailed examination of the intersections between sound, associated terrain, and worldview draws out the generative capabilities of geographical thought. The complex relationship between the city of New Orleans and the music of jazz serves as a backdrop for exploring the multifaceted means through which sound both engineers and activates ideas of place. Close analyses of musical portraits of New Orleans—as performed by musicians across a range of historical contexts—provide a more thorough understanding of place-based struggles to claim, protect, and transform the city’s so-called jazz heritage. Such musical visions of the city not only contribute to its iconic position in the national imagination but also express different and often conflicting perspectives with respect to local and regional identity. Key debates surrounding the emerging field of music and place studies form the backdrop for Chapter One, which focuses on New Orleans to reveal new avenues of analytical inquiry. Prevailing methodologies are challenged and reimagined in terms of the creation, imagination, and relocation of musical places. Chapter Two explores the many lives of the song “Basin Street Blues”—its interpretations, variants, and representations across time, space, and media—to inform a new theory of musical place, encapsulating the analytic potential of cultural geography. Conjured scenes of Congo Square, as imagined by jazz artists including Duke Ellington, Wynton Marsalis, and Donald Harrison, Jr., form the subject of Chapter Three.These stylized depictions of historically fraught relationships to New Orleans as the “birthplace of jazz” reveal complex personal and professional relationships to emblematic New Orleans communities, traditions, and tourism. Chapter Four tackles the disputed local terrain of musical tradition and preservation, mapping the (re)definition of traditional New Orleans jazz as performed by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Finally, Chapter Five examines the music of Trombone Shorty, an artist working in the post-Katrina context, to illustrate the implications of performances of place in exile.PhDMusic: MusicologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133368/1/sarezesu_1.pd

Han Mural Tombs: Reflection of Correlative Cosmology through Mural Paintings

The main research materials of this study were tombs with murals from the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–220 A.D.). The article deals with the issue of the reflection of ancient Chinesecosmologic concepts in the iconographic design of Han mural paintings. A thorough analysis of the iconographic design of murals shows that they possessed not only a decorative function, but together with the architectural structure and other burial objects reflected the entire cosmic image. The analysis of tomb paintings reveals a developed correlative cosmology yin-yang wuxing which manifests its concrete image in symbolic codes of individual iconographic motifs. The article first displays a general review of tombs with murals, and then focuses on depictions in Han tomb murals, discussing representation of the images of celestial bodies, the symbolic polarity of the cosmical forces yin and yang, the symbolism of the four directions and the four seasons and the symbolic circling of the five xings.Osnovni raziskovalni material pričujoče študije so predstavljale grobnice s poslikavo iz dinastije Han. Pričujoči članek se ukvarja s problematiko odražanja starodavnih kitajskih kozmoloških konceptov v ikonografski zasnovi grobnega slikarstva dinastije Han. Temeljita analiza ikonografske zasnove grobne poslikave je pokazala, da poslikava ni imela zgolj dekorativne funkcije, temveč je skupaj z arhitekturno strukturo in ostalimi pokopnimi predmeti odražala celotno kozmično podobo. Analiza grobnega slikarstva prikaže izdelano korelativno kozmologijo yin-yang wuxing, ki svoj odraz dobi v simbolnih kodah posameznih ikonografskih motivov. Članek najprej prikaže splošen pregled grobov s poslikavo, v nadaljevanju predstavi prikazovanje nebesnih teles, simbolno polarnost kozmičnih sil yin in yang, simbolizacijo štirih smeri in štirih letnih časov ter simbolnokroženje petih xingov, kot jih upodablja grobno stensko slikarstvo dinastije Han

Mao Zedong kot poslednji konfucijanski vladar? Moralno-didaktični vidik »konfucijanske« umetnosti

The present article deals with the moral-didactic aspect of “Confucian” art, as seen primarily in the form of narrative illustration. In order to legitimize their authority, many rulers used visual media to promote or affirm Confucian social and political values, and thereby presented themselves as ideal Confucian rulers. The article analyses the use of narrative illustration by two exemplary historical figures – the first emperor of the Tang dynasty, Taizong (589–649) and the founder of the Southern Song dynasty, Gaozong (1107–1187) – in order to define the concept of the “Confucian ideal ruler”. Based on this concept, the article then analyses the pictorial propaganda of the great Chinese communist leader, Mao Zedong (1893–1976). Mao also used didactic illustrations, in the form of propaganda posters, to disseminate communist ideology. He implicitly followed the model of the “Confucian ruler”, even if the figure was couched in the symbols of a 20th-century ideology. The article concludes by arguing that Mao Zedong can thus be considered the last “Confucian ideal ruler”.Pričujoči članek obravnava problematiko moralno-didaktičnega vidika »konfucijanske umetnosti«, ki nastopa v obliki t. i. narativnega slikarstva. Z namenom legitimacije politične avtoritete so številni vladarji s pomočjo vizualnega medija promovirali konfucijanske družbene in politične vrednote, ki bi jih prikazali kot idealne konfucijanske vladarje. Na primeru dveh vladarjev – prvega cesarja dinastije Tang Taizonga (589–649) ter ustanovitelja dinastije Južni Song Gaozonga (1107–1187) – bomo poskušali prikazati koncept »konfucijanskega idealnega vladarja«, kot ga razkrivajo posamezni primeri narativnih ilustracij. Izhajajoč iz teh primerov bomo v zadnjem delu članka poskušali interpretirati slikovno propagando velikega vodje komunistične Kitajske Mao Zedonga (1893– 1976), ki je ravno tako s pomočjo didaktičnih ilustracij v obliki propagandnih plakatov širil moderne ideje komunistične ideologije. Pri tem je večkrat prikrito sledil modelu »konfucijanskega vladarja«, čeravno ga je ovil v simbolne ovoje modernih ideologij 20. stoletja. Ali bi torej lahko Mao Zedonga označili za poslednjega »konfucijanskega idealnega vladarja«, bo osrednje vprašanje zadnjega dela pričujočega članka

Censorship and Self-censorship in Chinese Contexts

Editorial on the topic of “Censorship and Self-censorship” and introduction of the journal 介紹歐洲漢學學會期刊及本期專題“審查與自我審查”。介紹歐洲漢學學會期刊及本期專題“審查與自我審查”

Ivan Skušek ml. kot zbiratelj kitajskega pohištva

The paper discusses the collecting strategy of Ivan Skušek Jr. (1877–1947) with a focus on Chinese furniture. The analysis of collecting Chinese furniture in a broader European context reveals that we can consider Ivan Skušek as one of the first Western collectors who in the second decade of the 20th century already recognized the artistic value of individual domestic Chinese furniture pieces. In contrast, international appreciation of Chinese hardwood furniture only emerged in the 1940s and ‘50s after the first English-language publications had appeared. Skušek`s role in collecting Chinese furniture is therefore analysed on the basis of the broader context of the collecting history in the Euro-American region and the cultural classification, which held objects made of porcelain and lacquer in high esteem. In addition, the author attempts to place Skušek’s role within the European discourse of furniture collecting strategies, touching also on the definition of Chinese heritage, which further highlights the question of the cultural discourse of the Eurocentric imagination about China and thus the different national perceptions of Chinese heritage.Članek prikaže zbirateljsko strategijo Ivana Skuška ml. (1877–1947), pri čemer pod drobnogled postavi kitajsko pohištvo. Analiza zbirateljstva kitajskega pohištva v širšem evropskem kontekstu je pokazala, da lahko Ivana Skuška umestimo med prve zahodne zbiratelje, ki so v posameznih kosih kitajskega lesenega pohištva že v drugem desetletju 20. stoletja prepoznali umetniško obliko. Leseno pohištvo je namreč večjo mednarodno pozornost doseglo šele v 40. in 50. letih 20. stoletja, ko so začele izhajati prve angleške publikacije. Pri analizi Skuškove vloge v kontekstu zbirateljstva kitajskega pohištva izhajamo iz širše perspektive zbirateljstva v evro-ameriškem prostoru in kulturne klasifikacije, ki je na piedestal večinoma umeščala predmete iz porcelana in laka. Skuškovo vlogo nadalje poskušamo umestiti v širši evropski diskurz zbirateljskih strategij pohištva, pri tem pa se dotaknemo tudi vprašanja definicije kitajske dediščine, kar nadalje izpostavi problematiko kulturnega diskurza evrocentrične imaginacije o Kitajski in s tem različne nacionalne percepcije

Eventos extremos em mercados complexos: robot trading em um modelo de autômato celular

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Sócio-Econômico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Economia, Florianópolis, 2010Se reconhecermos que mercados financeiros são sistemas complexos, os instrumentos convencionais de política monetária e regulação podem ser inúteis para evitar o surgimento de bolhas e crashes. Para mostrar como esse objetivo pode ser alcançado, utilizamos um modelo de autômato celular estocástico para representar um mercado financeiro complexo, no qual a dinâmica dos preços emerge como resultado de interações diretas entre os agentes. Em seguida, robot traders são socialmente integrados ao modelo. Com isso, a dinâmica dos preços pode ser controlada, de modo a tornar o mercado estável.If stock markets are complex, monetary policy and even financial regulation may be useless to prevent bubbles and crashes. Here, we suggest the use of robot traders as an anti-bubble decoy. To make our case, we put forward a stochastic cellular automata model that generates an emergent stock price dynamics as a result of the interaction between traders. After introducing socially integrated robot traders, the stock price dynamics can be controlled, so as to make the market less volatile

East Asia in Slovenia

This special issue of Asian Studies aims to contribute to the field of European global collecting history by opening new vistas in order to readdress some of the unexplored topics. By presenting East Asian material in Slovenia and reconstructing the intercultural contacts between the two territories, it sheds light on the specific position of the Slovenian territory in the history of Euro-Asian exchanges on the threshold of the 20th century