Cognitive predictors of literacy acquisition in syllabic Hiragana and morphographic Kanji

We examined the role of different cognitive skills in word reading (accuracy and fluency) and spelling accuracy in syllabic Hiragana and morphographic Kanji. Japanese Hiragana and Kanji are strikingly contrastive orthographies: Hiragana has consistent character-sound correspondences with a limited symbol set, whereas Kanji has inconsistent character-sound correspondences with a large symbol set. One hundred sixty-nine Japanese children were assessed at the beginning of grade 1 on reading accuracy and fluency, spelling, phonological awareness, phonological memory, rapid automatized naming (RAN), orthographic knowledge, and morphological awareness, and on reading and spelling at the middle of grade 1. The results showed remarkable differences in the cognitive predictors of early reading accuracy and spelling development in Hiragana and Kanji, and somewhat lesser differences in the predictors of fluency development. Phonological awareness was a unique predictor of Hiragana reading accuracy and spelling, but its impact was relatively weak and transient. This finding is in line with those reported in consistent orthographies with contained symbol sets such as Finnish and Greek. In contrast, RAN and morphological awareness were more important predictors of Kanji than of Hiragana, and the patterns of relationships for Kanji were similar to those found in inconsistent orthographies with extensive symbol sets such as Chinese. The findings suggested that Japanese children learning two contrastive orthographic systems develop partially separate cognitive bases rather than a single basis for literacy acquisition.     

PHILOSOPHY AS TRANSLATION: DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION FROM DEWEY TO CAVELL

A bstract .  Dewey's idea of "mutual national understanding" faces new challenges in the age of globalization, especially in education for global understanding. In this essay Naoko Saito aims to find an alternative idea and language for "mutual national understanding," one that is more attuned to the sensibility of our times. She argues for Stanley Cavell's idea of philosophy as translation as such an alternative. Based upon Cavell's rereading of Thoreau's Walden , Saito represents Thoreau as a cross-cultural figure who transcends cultural and national boundaries. On the strength of this, she proposes a Cavellian education for global citizenship, that is, a perfectionist education for imperfect understanding in acknowledgment of alterity. Our founding of democracy must depend upon a readiness to "deconfound" the culture we have come from, the better to find new foundations together. The "native" is always in transition, by and through language, in processes of translation.     

Elements and degrees of SI: A case study of Nikkei Brazilian immigrants in Japan

This article provides an overview of the recent immigrant phenomenon in Japan and explains the complexity of the social integration (SI) of Nikkei Brazilians. Through the research, factors that explain the degree of social integration (SI) of Nikkei Brazilians are identified. Basic data include triangulated results from a survey of 80 people and interviews with 8 individuals. This mixed method case study presents a formula for assessing the degree of SI (SI score), empirically tests and questions several key hypotheses derived from previous literature, and explores the possibility of developing a new non-conventional theory to explain this phenomenon.     

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.     

Physical activity levels in American and Japanese men from the ERA-JUMP Study and associations with metabolic syndrome

Background:Metabolic syndrome(MetS) is a global health problem.Physical activity(PA) is a known modifiable risk factor for MetS and individual MetS components.However,the role of PA could differ between sub-populations due to differences in the variability of PA and other MetS risk factors.To examine these differences,multi-country studies with standardized outcome measurement methods across cohorts are needed.Methods:Cross-sectional PA levels(total and domain specific) in healthy middle-aged(44-56 years) men in the Risk Factor Assessment among Japanese and U.S.Men in the Post-World War Ⅱ Birth Cohort(ERA-JUMP) Study(n=730;American:n=417;Japanese:n=313;from population-representative samples in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania,USA,and Kusatsu,Shiga,Japan) were compared.The relationships between PA levels and MetS(overall and specific components) in/across the American and Japanese sub-cohorts(adjusting for age,smoking,and alcohol consumption)were also assessed using the same instruments(pedometer and validated questionnaire) to measure PA in both cohorts.Results:A total of 510 individuals provided complete data on PA(American:n=265;Japanese:n=245).The American cohort had significantly lower mean±SD steps/day(7878±3399 steps/day) vs.the Japanese cohort(9055±3797 steps/day)(p <0.001) but had significantly higher self-reported moderate-vigorous leisure PA(American:15.9(7.4-30.3) metabolic task equivalent hours per week(MET-b/week) vs.Japanese:4.0(0-11.3) METh/week,p <0.0001).In both sub-cohorts,each 1000 steps/day increase was associated with lower odds of having MetS(American:OR=0.90,95%CI:0.83-0.98;Japanese:OR=0.87,95%CI:0.79-0.95) and the individual MetS component of high waist circumference(American:OR=0.86,95%CI:0.79-0.94;Japanese:OR=0.87,95%CI:0.80-0.95).In the American cohort only,higher self-reported leisure PA(Met-b/week) was associated with lower odds of MetS and high waist circumference(OR=0.98,95%CI:0.97-0.99 for MetS and waist circumference,respectively).Conclusion:Higher total step counts/day had an important protective effect on MetS prevalence in both the Japanese and American cohorts,despite differences in PA levels and other MetS risk factors.The effect of steps/day(across all intensity levels) was much greater than domainspecific moderate-vigorous PA captured by questionnaire,suggesting the need for measurement tools that can best capture total movement when examining the effects of PA on MetS development.     

己烯雌酚对鸡受精卵雌性化的影响

为探讨环境激素的评价方法,研究了己烯雌酚(DES)对鸡胚胎性器官发育的影响。向鸡受精卵内注射DES,用W染色体的DNA标记确认基因型,解剖及切片观察生殖腺确认表型,调查雌性化情况。结果0.10 mg以下剂量的DES注射鸡受精卵,对7 d龄胚胎的生存率、孵化率没有不良影响(P>0.05),实验方法安全。但基因型ZZ的雄性个体精巢退化甚至消失、出现卵巢的雌性化现象,以芝麻油为溶剂时,0.10 mg DES处理的雌性化率为100%。DES能够显著导致鸡受精卵的雌性化,鸡或鸟类的受精卵的雌化率是环境激素的生物学评价的有效和灵敏的指标。     

Pragmatism and the Tragic Sense: Deweyan Growth in an Age of Nihilism

In the context of contemporary nihilistic tendencies in democracy and education, Dewey's pragmatism must respond to the criticism that it lacks a tragic sense. By highlighting the Emersonian perfectionist dimension latent in the concept of growth, this paper attempts to reveal a sense of the tragic in Dewey's work—his humble recognition of the double nature of democracy as both attained and unattained. It is precisely the lack of this sense of the tragic that characterises contemporary nihilism. In resistance to this, Deweyan growth points to a perfectionist education committed to the re–awakening of intensity of impulse.     

Evolution From Collaborative Learning to Symbiotic E-learning： Creation of New E-learning Environment for Knowledge Society

For people who live in the knowledge society which have rapidly been changing, learning in the widest sense becomes indispensable in all phases of working, living and playing. The construction of an environment, to meet the demands of people who need to acquire new knowledge and skills as the need arises, and enlighten each other regularly, is becoming very important. Thus, we hope to make the best use of the advantages of a rich e-learning environment which aims at ＂anytime, anywhere and anybody＂ learning, because participants in lifelong learning for the knowledge society demand to learn at the right place and right time, and with learning content, they can select themselves. However, in a general e-learning environment so far, because the situation is usual in which the instructor is absent and has the asynchronous access without an immediate communication with others, the participants tend to be solitude and it is difficult to maintain the learning motivation. Therefore, the creation of a new e-learning environment becomes extremely important in which various participants can learn and enlighten each other through an occasional and helpful interaction among them in appropriate learning communities in the network environment. In this paper, we present 5 points as basic requirements for the construction of an e-learning environment which can satisfy the various learning demands of the knowledge society, and discuss how to realize them. The key point here is the extension of the usual ＂strong＂ collaborative learning to effective ＂weak collaborative learning＂. In addition, the evolution of ＂symbiotic learning＂ for the knowledge society, that is, the necessity of ＂symbiotic e-learning environment based on occasional collaborative relationship＂ and its effective realization are discussed.