Mass Media as a Macrolevel Source of Social Control: A New Direction in the Community Structure Model

A community structure model is grounded in the structural model of mass media originally formulated by the Minnesota team of Tichenor, Donohue, and Olien. Although recent theoretical and empirical work has led to major refinements of the community structure research, there remain substantive and promising issues that deserve to be examined by mass communication scholars. This article recasts the original structural model by integrating a community-oriented approach to social control and formulates a set of hypotheses with regard to the role of local mass media in community social control.     

Influence of surfactant concentration on counter-ion induced solubility of poly（pyridine-2,5-diyl）

INTRODUCTION Preparation and electrical properties ofpoly(arylene)s having π-conjugation system along thepolymer chain are the subject of recent interest(Skotheim et al., 1997; Nalwa, 1997; Yamamoto,2002). Among the poly(arylene)s, poly(p-phenylene),poly(pyridine-2,5-diyl) and poly(thiophene-2,5-diyl)are the most fundamental polymers and had beenextensively studied (Skotheim et al., 1997; Yama-moto, 2002; Nurulla et al., 2001). However, thesepolymers show only…     

印度因素的重要性：甘地，森，斯皮瓦克

通过对甘地、森、斯皮瓦克这三位印度血统的学者进行考察,可以看出他们的共同点在于始终关注祖国的未来,同情贫穷人民与弱势群体;出于对西方强权政治和人文主义两方面本质的理解,他们对西方的思考方式和西方知识分子持批判态度。联系亚洲国家的现代化过程中输入西方观念来解决问题的现实话题,印度因素启示我们应该再次重新考虑西方思潮的适用性。     

The impact of education reform on the quality assurance system in Japan

International assessment studies have shown since decades that Japanese students score highly on math and science tests. As a consequence, many scholars, education policy officials and journalists outside Japan share the opinion that quality of education is ensured and turn to the Japanese educational system to identify educational effectiveness enhancing factors. Simultaneously, a sense of educational crisis exists within Japan, which resulted into numerous education reforms. In this paper, we describe how quality in education has been ensured in Japan, what changes in the assurance of quality are brought forth by the most recent wave of reform measures as well as the reaction of scholars toward these measures.     

CAMELOT: collaborative and multimedia environment for learners on teams

In the business-systems-design learning environment, there may be more than one solution to any given problem. For instance, the data model will be different depending on each learner’s perspective. Accordingly, group learning systems are very effective in this domain. We have developed a collaborative and multimedia environment for learners on teams (CAMELOT) using the ‘nominal group technique’ for group problem solving. In this paper, the basic framework of the collaborative learning system and the effectiveness of collaborative learning in designing the data model are described. By using CAMELOT, each learner learns how to analyse through case studies and how to collaborate with his or her group in problem solving. Learners come to a deeper understanding from using CAMELOT than from studying independently because they can reach better solutions through discussion, tips from other learners and examination of one another’s individual works.     

Photochemical reactions of poly（3-butoxythiophene-2,5-diyl） with chloroform

INTRODUCTION π-conjugated polymers have received a great deal of attention because of their unique chemical and physical properties, including electrochromism, electrically conducting properties, chemical sensing ability, and electroluminescent properties. Their structures, synthetic methodologies, and physical and chemical properties were intensely studied in the past two decades (Friend et al., 1999; Heeger, 2001; Ya-mamoto, 2002). Especially, processable derivatives of polythiophene …     

Shoulder and elbow kinematics in throwing of young baseball players

In this study we compared the kinematic features of the throwing motion between young baseball players of different age groups. Forty-four Japanese baseball players aged 6.1 to 12.3 years who regularly played baseball, including pitchers and position players, had their throwing actions analyzed three-dimensionally using high speed videography. Of this sample, 26 players aged above 9 years of age were categorized as the senior group, while the remaining 18 were categorized as the junior group. Senior group throwers had greater height and body mass, and produced a greater ball speed than junior group throwers. The throwing arm movement of senior group throwers was similar to that of adult skilled players. However, in the junior group throwers, the shoulder horizontal adduction angle was larger during the arm acceleration phase, and the maximum angular velocities of elbow extension and shoulder internal rotation occurred later than in senior group throwers. These results indicate that players aged above 9 years can acquire a mature throwing arm movement, while players younger than that will use an immature motion. A possible reason why these differences were shown is that the official baseball is relatively heavy for junior group throwers; they would be better advised to use a lighter ball in throwing practice.     

Pitching form determines probabilistic structure of errors in pitch location

According to recent motor control studies, it is important to know probabilistic structure of his/her own motor errors to choose an optimal motor plan (i.e., where you aim at) to maximise the expected gain. In this study, we questioned if pitching form determines the probabilistic structure of pitching errors in baseball pitchers. Eighteen collegiate baseball pitchers with various pitching forms including right- and left-handed overarm, sidearm and underarm throwers threw 100 pitches aiming at a target located 90 cm above the ground. Two dimensional distribution of pitch location was fitted by using bivariate normal distribution and 95% confidence ellipse was calculated. In order to quantify the pitching form, the direction of the throwing arm trajectory in frontal plane was calculated. The direction of the long axis was dependent on each participant’s pitching form (e.g., right overarm pitchers pitched along a right-up–left-down ellipse and left overarm pitchers pitched along a left-up–right-down ellipse). This was confirmed by circular correlation analysis (P = 0.98). These results suggest that different mechanisms, potentially errors in pitching mechanics and errors in ball release timing, might contribute to errors along the long axis and those along the short axis.     

Grassroots Football Development in Japan

Abstract

The history and issues surrounding elite football in Japan have been addressed by a number of scholars. However, grassroots football, although fundamental to the development of the code, has rarely been explored in the academic literature. In Japan, the importance of grassroots football has received heightened attention by the Japanese Football Association (JFA) since 2003, with 20% growth in the number of registered players under 12 years old from 2003 (262,956 players) to 2014 (315,178 players) a result of the JFA’s initiatives in this area. Japan is currently one of the most successful countries in Asia in terms of grassroots football development and the JFA won the Asian Football Confederation’s award, namely ‘The Best Member Association of the Year 2013 for Grassroots Football’. This paper explores the key driver behind the development of grassroots football development, namely the 47 Prefectural Football Associations, which provide programmes and technical, physical and promotional services which include activities to increase opportunities, facilities, coach education, elite pathways, and competitions for grassroots football. The paper concludes that the factors which have resulted in the success of Japan’s grassroots football revolve around governance of Prefectural Football Associations, coach education programmes, increased opportunities by clubs, leagues and schools, and collaboration with stakeholders within and outside of Prefectural Football Associations.     

Resolution of low-velocity control in golf putting differentiates professionals from amateurs

It is difficult for humans to apply small amounts of force precisely during motor control. However, experts who have undergone extended training are thought to be able to control low-velocity movement with precision. We investigated the resolution of motor control in golf putting. A total of 10 professional and 10 high-level amateur golfers participated. Putting distances were 0.6–3.3 m, in increments of 0.3 m. We measured the impact velocity and the club-face angle at impact, and the acceleration profile of the downswing. The professionals showed significantly smaller coefficients of variation with respect to impact velocity and smaller root mean square errors in relation to acceleration profiles than did the amateurs. To examine the resolution of motor control for impact velocity, we investigated intra-participant differences in the impact velocity of the club head at two adjacent distances. We found that professionals had higher velocity precision when putting small distance intervals than did amateurs. That is, professionals had higher resolution of low-velocity control than did high-level amateurs. Our results suggest that outstanding performance at a task involves the ability to recognise small distinctions and to produce appropriate movements.