Peers’ perceptions of Japanese returnees

Many studies have examined the reentry process of Japanese children raised abroad. Results suggest that “feeling different” is a key factor in describing their experiences. These studies, however, were based only on self-reports of returnees. The current study examined returnees’ peers’ perceptions and the factors that affected them. Results indicated that the returnees’ peers’ perceptions could be summarized by two factors: “advantage” and “difference/disadvantage.” Those who had studied abroad and who had known many returnees had a balanced perspective of the returnee experience. Women were more likely to perceive advantages while those who were older were more likely to perceive differences/disadvantages.     

Who is more influenced by customer equity drivers? A moderator analysis in a professional soccer context

Despite the recent progress in understanding consumer moderators, much of this work has focused on the satisfaction-behavioral intentions link. There is a lack of research regarding the potential moderating effects of consumer variables on the relationship between the three dimensions of customer equity (value, brand, and relationship equity) and behavioral intentions. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine how the effects of value, brand, and relationship equity on consumer behavioral intentions are enhanced by demographic (age and gender) and relational (season-ticket purchase) moderators. Furthermore, this study views brand equity as a psychological moderator and attempts to investigate the moderating effects of brand equity on the relationships between value equity, relationship equity, and behavioral intentions. Data were collected from spectators at a professional soccer event in Japan (n = 383). The results indicate that the effect of brand equity on behavioral intentions is positive and significant, while relationship equity has positive effects on both brand equity and behavioral intentions. A series of moderator analyses using the multi-group SEM method revealed that the influences of brand and relationship equity on behavioral intentions are stronger for younger consumers, men, and season-ticket holders than for older consumers, women, and non-season-ticket holders. Moreover, the moderator analyses verified that the effect of value equity on behavioral intentions was positive and significant only for those spectators belonging to the low brand equity categorization. The research findings, contributions, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Contribution of hand and foot force to take-off velocity for the kick-start in competitive swimming

This study examines the hand and foot reaction force recorded independently while performing the kick-start technique. Eleven male competitive swimmers performed three trials for the kick-start with maximum effort. Three force platforms (main block, backplate and handgrip) were used to measure reaction forces during starting motion. Force impulses from the hands, front foot and rearfoot were calculated via time integration. During the kick-start, the vertical impulse from the front foot was significantly higher than that from the rearfoot and the horizontal impulse from the rearfoot was significantly higher than that from the front foot. The force impulse from the front foot was dominant for generating vertical take-off velocity and the force impulse from the rearfoot was dominant for horizontal take-off velocity. The kick-start’s shorter block time in comparison to prior measurements of the grab start was explained by the development of horizontal reaction force from the hands and the rearfoot at the beginning of the starting motion.     

Active recovery effects on local oxygenation level during intensive cycling bouts

We hypothesised that the oxygen supply to the fatigued muscles is improved after the recovery with exercise caused by aerobic metabolism in the slow twitch fibres during the recovery period. Ten males performed a 30 s maximum cycling (1st Exercise), followed by a 20 min rest interval (Interval Rest) in which participants were either sitting (No Exercise) or low intensive cycling (Active). Then they again underwent a 30 s bout of maximum cycling (2nd Exercise). The total work of the 2nd Exercise was higher in Active compared to No Exercise (297 ± 14 vs 276 ± 23 J · kg(-1), P < 0.01). After Interval Rest, the muscle oxygenation level (P < 0.05) and blood lactate concentration (P < 0.05) were lower in Active compared to No Exercise. In Active, the total work was higher in the 2nd Exercise than the 1st Exercise (297 ± 14 vs 277 ± 23 J · kg(-1), P < 0.01), and muscle oxygenation levels during the 2nd Exercise were also higher at 10 (P < 0.05) and 15 (P < 0.01) s after the beginning of the exercise. It was suggested that active recovery exercise would manage to increase the muscle oxygenation level, and improve the performance during the 2nd Exercise accompanied with blood lactate control.     

Cell-enclosing gelatin-based microcapsule production for tissue engineering using a microfluidic flow-focusing system

Gelatin-based microcapsule production using a microfluidic system and the feasibility of the resultant microcapsules for constructing spherical tissues surrounded by heterogeneous cells were studied. The first cell-encapsulation and subsequent cell-enclosing microparticle encapsulation were achieved using a microfluidic flow-focusing droplet production system. A hollow-core structure of about 150 μm in diameter was developed by incubating the resultant microparticles at 37 °C, which induced thermal melting of the enclosed unmodified gelatin microparticles. Mammalian cells filled the hollow-cores after 4 days of incubation. A cell layer on the cell-enclosing microcapsules was developed by simply suspending the microcapsules in medium containing adherent fibroblast cells. This method may prove useful for the generation of gelatin microcapsules using a microfluidic system for formation of artificial tissue constructs.     

Simulation of reductive dechlorination processes in a lab-scale anaerobic biobarrier with enriched TCP dechlorinating consortium

In order to design and predict the dechlorination processes for remediating the halogenated aromatic compounds in the biobarrier system applied in situ,an anaerobic continuous-flow column was set up with the introduction of an enriched 2,4,6-trichlorophenol(TCP) reductive dechlorinating consortium.The fates of TCP and its metabolites were simulated according to the first-order sequential dechlorination kinetic model.The enriched TCP anaerobic dechlorinating consortium dechlorinated 100 μmol/L TCP to 4-chlorophenol(4-CP) via 2,4-dichlorophenol(DCP) in 10 d.The consortium was predominated with the phylum of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes,based on the PCRdenaturing gradient gel electrophoresis(DGGE) analysis.After the consortium was applied to the column,the experimental data in the steady state were fitted by the least square method,and the first-order dechlorination kinetic constants from TCP to 2,4-DCP,from 2,4-DCP to 4-CP and from 4-CP to phenol,were 1.58 d-1,2.23 d-1 and 0.206 d-1,respectively.According to the fitting results,the required biobarrier width for the complete remediation of TCP,2,4DCP and 4-CP were 126 cm,130 cm and 689 cm,respectively.The dechlorination/degradation of 4-CP must be increased when the technology is applied to the real site.     

专业知识交流及其可视化支持工具研究

专业知识交流问题是知识管理中的关键问题之一.本文从影响知识交流的认知障碍因素出发研究专业知识交流问题,并进而开发一个支持专业知识交流的可视化工具.从知识交流的一般过程入手,本文分析指出,人和人之间的专业知识交流过程与专家系统领域广泛研究的知识获取过程具有很好的可类比性.从而,借鉴第二代专家系统把领域知识和控制知识分离的思路,分析了知识交流中知识表述过程和知识理解过程本质上是通过 "知识组织结构"构造领域知识模型的过程;这一过程与专家系统中通过控制知识把领域知识组合起来形成推理链条的过程具有内在一致性.从这一模型构造的思想出发,提出一个可视化的专业知识交流支持工具实验型软件原型.     

Path tracking control of autonomous agricultural mobile robots

In a tractor automatic navigation system, path planning plays a significant role in improving operation efficiency. This study aims to create a suboptimal reference course for headland turning of a robot tractor and design a path-tracking controller to guide the robot tractor along the reference course. A time-minimum suboptimal control method was used to generate the reference turning course based on the mechanical parameters of the test tractor. A path-tracking controller consisting of both feedforward and feedback component elements was also proposed. The feedforward component was directly determined by the desired steering angle of the current navigation point on the reference course, whereas the feedback component was derived from the designed optimal controller. Computer simulation and field tests were performed to validate the path-tracking performance. Field test results indicated that the robot tractor followed the reference courses precisely on flat meadow, with average and standard lateral devia- tions being 0.031 m and 0.086 m, respectively. However, the tracking error increased while operating on sloping meadow due to the employed vehicle kinematic model.     

Contrasting experiences in Japanese returnee adjustment: Those who adjust easily and those who do not

This study examined how returnees who experienced more adjustment difficulties (Bumpies) differed from those who experienced fewer (Smoothies). Three open-ended items from 512 returnees¹ were analyzed. Ward et al.’s [Ward, C., Bochner, S., & Furnham, A. (2001). The psychology of culture shock. East Sussex: Routledge] adjustment model was used as the theoretical framework for this study.Prior to examining the open-ended items, preliminary analyses were conducted to confirm that these two groups, in fact, differed from each other in their returnee experience. Results suggested that one function, which we named “Lack of Acceptance,” differentiated the two groups; Smoothies felt more accepted by others compared to Bumpies.In the next stage, the open-ended questions related to the items that loaded significantly on the function identified by the discriminant analysis were coded and analyzed. Results suggested that the two groups’ experiences were similar in some respects (e.g., being stereotyped as a returnee, language-related problems) and different in others (e.g., Smoothies felt more accepted by others compared to Bumpies, Bumpies reported more incidents of discrimination and bullying). Results underscored Ward et al.’s [Ward, C., Bochner, S., & Furnham, A. (2001). The psychology of culture shock. East Sussex: Routledge] assertion that adjustment is a result of a two-way interaction between individual and societal variables.