Modelación agropecuaria mediante programación lineal a partir de modelos Monte Carlo para el partido de Guaminí (Pcia. de Buenos Aires)

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Home is where my archive is

The miniaturization and dissemination of audiovisual media into small, mobile assemblages of cameras, screens and microphones has brought "database cinema" (Manovich) into pockets and handbags. In turn, this micro-portability of video production calls for a reconsideration of database cinema, not as an aesthetic but rather as a media ecology that makes certain experiences and forms of interaction possible. In this context the clip and the fragment become a social currency (showing, trading online, etc.), and the enjoyment of a moment or "occasion" becomes an opportunity for recording, extending, preserving and displaying. If we are now the documentarists of our lives (as so many mobile phone adverts imply), it follows that we are also our own archivists as well. From the folksonomies of Flickr and YouTube to the slick "media centres" of Sony, Apple and Microsoft, the audiovisual home archive is a prized territory of struggle among platforms and brands. The database is emerging as the dominant (screen) medium of popular creativity and distribution – but it also brings the categories of "home" and "person" closer to that of the archive.

Does culture affect a brand's personality?

Global branding brings with it exposure to an increasingly culturally-diverse audience. Examples of Islamic finance products being consumed by non-Muslims, and designer labels being adopted, by those outside of their intended target audience; seem to suggest that brands are being shaped more and more by consumers. Within current literature on branding, and cross-cultural consumer behaviour; there appears to have emerged a difference of opinion - as to whether a consumer’s culture has any bearing on their decision making; or subsequent influence brand personalities. The purpose of this paper is to present existing evidence; as a basis for undertaking future research.

‘The Pinocchio Effect’ – when managing the brand creation process, across cultures

In global marketing and international management, the fields of Branding and Culture are well discussed as separate disciplines; within both academia and industry. However, there appears to be limited supporting literature, examining brands and culture as a collective discipline. In addition, environmental factors such as ethnicity, nationality and religion are also seen to play a significant role. This in itself adds to the challenges encountered, by those looking to critically apply learning and frameworks, to any information gathered. In the first instance, this paper tries to bring aspects together from Branding and Culture and in doing so, aims to find linkages between the two. The main purpose of this paper is to distil current brand thinking and explore what impact cross-cultural, cross-national, and ethnic interactions have on a brand’s creation. The position of the authors is that without further understanding in this field, a brand will experience what has been termed by them as the ‘Pinocchio Effect’. Pinocchio was a puppet who longed to become a real human being; but sadly encountered difficulties. The conclusion presented is that the critical long-term success of a brand lies in three areas: how it is created; the subsequent associated perceptions; and more specifically in the reality of the relationships that it enjoys. Collectively these processes necessitate an appraisal of connecting strategic management procedures and thinking. Finally, this paper looks into proposing future methods for brand evaluation and strategic management. The aim is to stimulate further thinking in a field; which transcends national, ethnic and cultural boundaries - in the interests of developing new insight, and to provide a platform for marketers to develop more effective communications.

Investigating antecedents and consequences of brand identification

Purpose – This study aims to analyse the influences of prestige, satisfaction, and communication on brand identification and to show how brand identification influences word-of-mouth and brand repurchase. Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical model is developed and tested with a sample of car owners in the UK of two global car brands. Structural equation modelling was used with LISREL 8.54 and the maximum likelihood (ML) method. Findings – This paper draws mainly on the theory of social identity to provide a comprehensive understanding of conditions under which brand owners are likely to identify with their brand and the bases and consequences of such identification. It was shown that prestige, satisfaction, and communication effect brand identification. The study confirms that consumers' development of relationships via brand identification results in word of mouth about the brand and intentions to repurchase the brand. Furthermore, it was found that brand identification fully mediates the influences of prestige, satisfaction, and communication on word of mouth and brand repurchase. Research limitations/implications – The focus was on one country and one industry. Practical implications – Managers are provided with strategies that enhance the identification of their customers with their brand so that they can strengthen the customers' brand identification. Areas for future research are suggested. For instance, it could be interesting to test the model in a different industry and/or cultural context. Originality/value – Very few previous studies have looked at brand identification which is surprising considering it is such an important variable to influence word-of-mouth and brand repurchase. The study tests three antecedents to brand identification and two outcomes that have not been investigated previously. Overall, the study adds knowledge in this somewhat neglected area.

Grassland-herbivore interactions: How do grazers coexist?

We develop a new approach to modeling grazing systems that links foraging characteristics (intake and digestive constraints) with resource dynamics via the probability of encounter with different grass heights. Three complementary models are presented: the generation of a grass height structure through selective grazing; investigating the conditions for consumer coexistence; and, using a simplified resource structure, the consequences for consumer abundance. The main finding is that coexistence between grazers differing in body size is possible if a single-resource type becomes differentiated in its height structure. Large grazers can facilitate food availability for smaller species but with the latter being competitively dominant. The relative preference given to different resource partitions is important in determining the nature of population interactions. Large-body and small-body grazer populations can interact through competitive, parasitic, commensalist, or amensalist relationships, depending on the way they partition the resource as well as their relative populations and the dynamics of resource renewal. The models provide new concepts of multispecies carrying capacity (stock equilibrium) in grazed systems with implications for conservation and management. We conclude that consumer species are not substitutable; therefore, the use of rangeland management concepts such as "livestock units" may be inappropriate.

Retrospective assessment of dryland soil stability in relation to grazing and climate change

Accelerated soil erosion is an aspect of dryland degradation that is affected by repeated intense drought events and land management activities such as commercial livestock grazing. A soil stability index (SSI) that detects the erosion status and susceptibility of a landscape at the pixel level, i.e., stable, erosional, or depositional pixels, was derived from the spectral properties of an archived time series (from 1972 to 1997) of Landsat satellite data of a commercial ranch in northeastern Utah. The SSI was retrospectively validated with contemporary field measures of soil organic matter and erosion status that was surveyed by US federal land management agencies. Catastrophe theory provided the conceptual framework for retrospective assessment of the impact of commercial grazing and soil water availability on the SSI. The overall SSI trend was from an eroding landscape in the early drier 1970s towards stable conditions in the wetter mid-1980s and late 1990s. The landscape catastrophically shifted towards an extreme eroding state that was coincident with the “The Great North American Drought of 1988”. Periods of landscape stability and trajectories toward stability were coincident with extremely wet El Niño events. Commercial grazing had less correlation with soil stability than drought conditions. However, the landscape became more susceptible to erosion events under multiple droughts and grazing. Land managers now have nearly a year warning of El Niño and La Niña events and can adjust their management decisions according to predicted landscape erosion conditions.

Experimental assessment of oyster transfers as a vector for macroalgal introductions

Introduction of non-indigenous species can alter marine communities and ecosystems. In shellfish farming, transfer of livestock, especially oysters, is a common practice and potentially constitutes a pathway for non-indigenous introductions. Many species of seaweeds are believed to have been accidentally introduced in association with these transfers, but there is little direct evidence.

Risk of disease from wildlife reservoirs: Badgers, cattle, and bovine tuberculosis

Livestock face complex foraging options associated with optimizing nutrient intake while being able to avoid areas posing risk of parasites or disease. Areas of tall nutrient-rich swards around fecal deposits may be attractive for grazing, but might incur fitness costs from parasites. We use the example of dairy cattle and the risks of tuberculosis transmission posed to them by pastures contaminated with badger excreta to examine this trade-off. A risk may be posed either by aerosolized inhalation through investigation or by ingestion via grazing contaminated swards. We quantified the levels of investigation and grazing of 150 dairy cows at badger latrines (accumulations of feces and urine) and crossing points (urination-only sites). Grazing behavior was compared between strip-grazed and rotation-grazed fields. Strip grazing had fields subdivided for grazing periods of

Nature as historical protagonist: environment and society in pre-industrial England

This article compares chronologies reconstructed from historical records of prices, wages, grain harvests, and population with corresponding chronologies of growing conditions and climatic variations derived from dendrochronology and Greenland ice-cores. It demonstrates that in pre-industrial, and especially late medieval, England, short-term environmental shocks and more enduring shifts in environmental conditions (sometimes acting in concert with biological agencies) exercised a powerful influence upon the balance struck between population and available resources via their effects upon the reproduction, health and life expectancy of humans, crops, and livestock. Prevailing socio-economic conditions and institutions, in turn, shaped society's susceptibility to these environmental shocks and shifts.

The Rhetorical Construction of Corporate Logos

This research is set in the context of today’s societies, in which the corporate visual symbology of a business, corporation or institution constitutes an essential way to transmit its corporate image. Traditional discursive procedures can be discovered in the development of these signs. The rhetorical strategies developed by the great classical authors appear in the logo-symbols expressing the corporate values of today’s companies. Thus, rhetoric is emerging once again in the sense it had many centuries ago: A repertory of rules that, paradoxically, standardizes the deviations of language and whose control is synonymous with power. The main objective of this study is to substantiate the rhetorical construction of logos using as a model of analysis the classical process of creating discourse. This involves understanding logos as persuasive discourses addressed to a modern audience. Our findings show that the rhetorical paradigm can be considered as a creative model for the con­struction of an original logo consistent with a company’s image.

Influence of regrouping strategy on performance, behaviour and carcass parameters in pigs

One thousand two hundred pigs were weaned at 4 weeks of age and mixed to form groups of ten animals that were balanced for gender. The groups consisted of uniform weight groups (i.e. separate groups of small, medium or large pigs), or mixed weight groups (i.e. groups containing small, medium and large pigs). Half of the groups were retained from weaning until slaughter at 21 weeks of age, and half were regrouped at the start of the finishing period at 10 weeks of age. In this regrouping, uniform weight groups were regrouped to form mixed weight groups, and mixed weight groups were regrouped to form uniform weight groups. In addition, some mixed weight groups were regrouped to form mixed weight groups in order to assess the effect of regrouping at 10 weeks of age on performance and aggressive behaviour.

Mammals and agri-environment schemes: hare haven or pest paradise?

1. Agri-environment schemes (AESs) are designed to create landscape-scale improvements in biodiversity. While the specific aims of AESs do not always include the enhancement of species of conservation concern, associated conservation strategies, such as the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, often rest on the assumption that AESs enhance environmental conditions and thereby improve the conservation status of target species. However, there is little evidence for the general efficacy of AESs in this respect. 2. To evaluate the effects of the Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) scheme, a widespread AES in Northern Ireland, a spotlight survey of the relative abundance of three mammal species, Irish hare Lepus timidus hibernicus, European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus and red fox Vulpes vulpes, was conducted. Of these, the Irish hare is a priority species for conservation action and the focus of a species action plan, while rabbit and fox are commonly considered agricultural pests. The effects of ESA designation and habitat on each species were assessed at 150 ESA and 50 non-ESA sites, matched for landscape characteristics. 3. The ESA scheme had no demonstrable effect on the abundance of Irish hares, and this agri-environment scheme did not target the landscape and habitat variables associated with hares. 4. In contrast, the abundance of rabbits and foxes was significantly greater within ESAs than the wider countryside. Agricultural factors such as reduced livestock stocking density, reduced overgrazing and field boundary enhancements may create more favourable conditions for both species. Aside from the implications for farm economics, the proliferation of rabbit populations within conservation areas may raise issues concerning the grazing of important plant communities, while increases in fox populations may adversely affect ground-nesting birds and other animal species of conservation concern. 5. Synthesis and applications: The abundance of rabbits and foxes corroborates recent work that suggests AESs may benefit common species but can not be relied upon to encourage rarer species. The Irish hare species action plan relies on agri-environment schemes to enhance the species’ status and realize the target of increasing the hare population by 2010 by promoting suitable habitat. However, the ESA scheme is unlikely to help in achieving these objectives. Targeted and evidence-based agri-environment prescriptions are clearly required in order to ensure the realization of species-specific conservation targets.

Influence of group size during the post-weaning period on the performance and behaviour of pigs

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of group size during the post-weaning period on the performance and behaviour of pigs. A total of 1280 pigs were allocated to one of five group sizes from weaning at 4 weeks of age until 10 weeks of age. The group sizes consisted of 10, 20, 30, 40 or 60 pigs, and groups were balanced for gender and weight. All pigs were housed at a constant space allowance and one 4-space dry feeder and drinker was provided per 10 animals. Group size did not significantly affect growth rate; however, the coefficient of variation for growth was greater in groups of 10 than in larger groups, and this reached significance (P