Gender and social class differences in Japanese mothers’ beliefs about children's education and socialisation

Despite increasing rates of university attendance among women, a significant gender gap remains in socialisation and educational processes in Japan. To understand why and how gender-distinctive socialisation processes persist, this study aimed to examine both middle-class and working-class mothers’ beliefs about gender, education, and children's development. Qualitative analyses were conducted on in-depth interviews with 16 Japanese mothers with preschool children who participated in the research study for three years. The meaning of education differed depending on the children's gender and social class context. While there was a social class difference in mothers’ expectations of their daughters’ educational attainment, the majority of women in this study saw their daughters as caregivers of family members in the future. This study also demonstrates the dilemmas and mixed messages in women's narratives in relation to gender norms and the processes of raising their children.     

Towards a More Just Educational Policy for Minorities in Japan: The case of Korean ethnic schools

Internationally, the simple assimilation of minority students is gradually being replaced by an emphasis on pluralism and multiculturalism, reflecting increased awareness of the value of cultural diversity. How to allow for cultural diversity, however, remains largely undetermined and controversial in various respects. Japan in particular is experiencing the challenge of cultural diversity, even though the country has often been portrayed as ethnically homogeneous. This paper focuses on the situation of Korean residents, one of several long-time minority groups in Japan, and discusses the significance of Korean ethnic schools in light of socio-historical considerations. Factors affecting the bicultural identity of Korean residents in Japan, and minorities in general, are considered. It is concluded that, although separate schooling for cultural minority students is not usually favoured in western societies, a strong case can be made for recognising the legitimacy of Korean ethnic schools in Japan.     

Comprehension of relations among controversial texts: effects of external strategy use

This study examined the effects of external strategy use on the comprehension of relations among controversial texts. About 80 undergraduates read six controversial texts for the purpose of either finding intertextual relations or forming their opinion about the controversial issue. Half of them were permitted to use external strategies, the other half were not. Results indicated that only when given a purpose of relation-finding did external strategy users perform better than non-users in the comprehension of intertextual relations. Readers with a purpose of relation-finding also outperformed readers with a purpose of opinion-forming when permitted to use external strategies. The use of external strategies had no influence on the recall of intratextual arguments, regardless of reading purpose. These results were discussed in terms of readers’ use of external strategies to serve their reading purposes.     

Kinematic comparison of the seoi-nage judo technique between elite and college athletes

This study sought to identify biomechanical factors that determine fast and skilful execution of the seoi-nage (shoulder throw) technique by comparing kinematics between elite and college judo athletes. Three-dimensional motion data were captured using a VICON-MX system with 18 cameras operating at 250 Hz as three male elite and seven male college judo athletes performed seoi-nage. No significant difference was found in motion phase time of the turning phase between the two groups, indicating that motion phase time is not necessarily a factor contributing quickness in seoi-nage. The maximum relative velocity of the whole body centre of mass along the anterior–posterior direction was significantly greater in the elite athletes (2.74 ± 0.33 m/s) than in the college athletes (1.62 ± 0.47 m/s) during the turning phase (p = 0.023). The overall angular velocity of the body part lines, particularly the arm line, tended to be greater in the elite athletes (p = 0.068). The results imply that the velocity of the thrower relative to the opponent in the forward drive and turning motion reflects high skill seoi-nage. Coaches should recognise the relative forward velocity as a factor that may contribute to a successful seoi-nage when teaching the judo throw technique.     

Changing schooling,changing shadow: shapes and functions of juku in Japan

Private supplementary tutoring became a widespread phenomenon in Japan during the 1960s. Since then, institutions providing tutoring known as juku have provided a wide range of services to supplement mainstream education. During decades of development, the shapes and functions of juku have changed in response to changes in schooling. Government attitudes towards juku have also shifted from rejection to collaboration, partly because juku have become so entrenched in Japanese society and can no longer be excluded from public decision-making processes. Collaboration between schools and juku is becoming increasingly evident in a series of neoliberal policy choices and socio-demographic changes. Patterns underline a government move to mobilize profit-driven juku to serve the public good. The inclusion of juku in public schooling necessitates reconceptualization of the roles of juku in the educational landscape. This article presents a conceptual framework based on an overview of the changing relationships between juku and schooling. It also identifies challenges in the collaboration, and explores implications for future relationships between mainstream and shadow education.     

Comparative Education in a Microcosm: Methodological Insights from the International Schools Sector in Hong Kong

Many studies in the field of comparative education take national education systems as the basic unit of analysis. The present paper has been conceived within this tradition, but has a different angle of approach. It focuses on 47 international schools in a small territory. Some of the international schools were grouped into larger systems but others were free-standing institutions. The focus of the paper thus lies at an intersection between cross-national and intra-national comparisons. It makes methodological observations on the nature of comparisons that are possible within such a microcosm, and on the conceptual lessons that can be derived from such analysis.     

A Study of Romanization Practice for Japanese Language Titles in OCLC WorldCat Records

Consistent romanization practice is one of the biggest challenges in cataloging Japanese materials. This study provides a snapshot of how Japanese is inconsistently or incorrectly romanized in Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) WorldCat records, and analyzes factors that might be causing the romanization problems among the records. Particular focus is placed on the analysis of word division problems that might be affected by different interpretations and applications of the ALA-LC Romanization Tables rules. Results revealed major factors behind the inconsistencies that were associated with the ambiguity and complexity of the word division rules. Solutions and ideas for further studies are suggested.     

Quality-oriented technical change in Japanese wheat breeding

The article presents a productivity analysis of Japanese wheat breeding research. We first estimate a hedonic function to determine the marginal implicit values of Japanese wheat characteristics and find that protein contributes substantially to millers’ price offers to farmers. Induced innovation theory implies breeders thus should be responding to new protein-oriented price policies by developing high-protein wheat varieties. We test this hypothesis by estimating a distance function relating breeding resources – including what we call gene-recharge rates – to the yield and protein characteristics of discovered varieties. New varieties indeed have been protein-favoring and yield-disfavoring, suggesting government research programs have been market-oriented.     

Textbooks on the move: Transforming a textbook collection

Recently, The City College of New York (CCNY) libraries engaged in a collaborative project to transfer the bibliographic holdings for textbook course reserves to a new module when their integrated library systems, the Ex Libris Aleph Integrated Library System, underwent a system upgrade. In this article, the Chief of Circulation and the Chief of Cataloging share and analyze the various steps and challenges undertaken to complete this project, which took place over the span of three semesters. This article will serve to assist those who work in circulation and cataloging to aid in the planning of a large collaborative library-wide project.     

Lead soaps in paintings: Friends or foes?

The origin(s) and role(s) of metal soaps in paints are a worldwide concern today. These hybrid compounds, containing both fatty acid chains and metals associated with a carboxylate function, are increasingly identified in paints. As reviewed in the first part of this work, the presence of metal soaps in paints is differently interpreted in scientific publications: metal soaps are sometimes considered to play a positive role as anchor points, during paint drying processes; they can also be considered as responsible for many degradation processes (protrusions, efflorescences, darkening, etc.). Their origins are also interpreted in various ways. In some paintings (in particular from the twentieth century), they have sometimes introduced on purpose, as additives, to modify the physical properties of the painting materials. In older paintings, metal soaps are usually thought to result from an uncontrolled reaction of oil with lead-based pigments, in particular lead white, red lead, and lead tin yellow. In the second part of this work, the review of historical recipes of lead-based paint shows an important number of recipes based on controlled mixing of oil with lead driers. In the third part, the experimental reproduction of such traditional recipes using walnut oil and litharge (PbO) shows that lead soaps can be formed, both in about one hour at ～100°C, or in about one month at room temperature. It shows as well that after a few years, litharge is no longer detected in the paint medium, while different lead carbonates are. Finally, the micro-infrared spectroscopy and micro-X-ray diffraction re-analysis of protrusions from a nine-year model painting shows together with lead soaps, the presence of Pb₅(CO₃)₃(OH)₂O (‘synthetic plumbonacrite’), an unusual phase recently observed in a protrusion from a painting by Vincent Van Gogh. This work highlights (i) the multiple origins and roles of metal soaps in paints and (ii) the importance of combining the analysis of fragments from historical paintings with the analysis and reproduction of historical recipes. In particular, we show that the components detected today in historical paintings may severely differ from those originally used or prepared by the painter, complicating the assessment of the painter's intentions. More than the presence of metal soaps, the key questions to be tackled should be about their origins and (re)mobilization.