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Objective. To sort out the literature related to conjunctival bacteria and summarize research hotspots and trends of this field. Materials and Methods. The relevant literature data from 1900 to 2019 was retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. After manual selection, each document record includes title, author, keywords, abstract, year, organization, and citation. We imported the downloaded data into CiteSpace V (version 5.5R2) to draw the knowledge map and conduct cooperative network analysis, discipline and journal analysis, cluster analysis, and burst keyword analysis. Results. After manual screening, there were 285 relevant papers published in the last 28 years (from 1991 to 2019), and the number is increasing year by year. The publications of conjunctival bacteria were dedicated by 1381 authors of 451 institutions in 56 countries/regions. The United States dominates this field (82 literatures), followed by Germany (23 literatures) and Japan (23 literatures). Overall, most cited papers were published with a focus on molecular biology, genetics, nursing, and toxicology. Most papers fall into the category of ophthalmology, veterinary sciences, and pharmacology and pharmacy. The only organized cluster is the "postantibiotic effect," and the top 5 keywords with the strongest citation bursts include "postoperative endophthalmiti(s)," "infectious keratoconjunctiviti(s)," "conjunctiviti(s)," "resistance," and "diversity". Conclusion. The global field of conjunctival bacteria has expanded in the last 28 years. The United States contributes most. However, there are little cooperation among authors and institutions. Overall, this bibliometric study organized one cluster, "postantibiotic effect", and identified the top 5 hotspots in conjunctival bacteria research: "postoperative endophthalmiti(s)," "infectious keratoconjunctiviti(s)," "conjunctiviti(s)," "resistance," and "diversity". Thus, further research focuses on these topics that may be more helpful to prevent ocular infection and improve prophylaxis strategies to bring a benefit to patients in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is commonly defined as a transitional subclinical state between normal aging and dementia. A growing body of research indicates that health behaviors may play a protective role against cognitive decline and could potentially slow down the progression from MCI to dementia. The aim of this study is to conduct a bibliometric analysis of literature focusing on health behaviors and MCI to summarize the factors and evidence regarding the influence of health behaviors on MCI. Methods: The study performed a bibliometric analysis by retrieving publications from the Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index subdatabases within the Web of Science Core Collection. Utilizing VOSviewer and CiteSpace software, a total of 2,843 eligible articles underwent co-citation, cokeywords, and clustering analyses. This methodology aimed to investigate the current status, trends, major research questions, and potential future directions within the research domain. Results: The bibliometric analysis indicates that research on healthy behaviors in individuals with MCI originated in 2002 and experienced rapid growth in 2014, reflecting the increasing global interest in this area. The United States emerged as the primary contributor, accounting for more than one-third of the total scientific output with 982 articles. Journals that published the most articles on MCI-related health behaviors included "Journal of Alzheimer's Disease," "Neurobiology of Aging," "Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience," and other geriatricsrelated journals. High-impact papers identified by VOSviewer predominantly cover concepts related to MCI, such as diagnostic criteria, assessment, and multifactorial interventions. Co-occurrence keyword analysis highlights five research hotspots in health behavior associated with MCI: exercise, diet, risk factors and preventive measures for dementia, cognitive decline-related biomarkers, and clinical trials. Conclusion: This study provides a comprehensive review of literature on health behavior in individuals with MCI, emphasizing influential documents and journals. It outlines research trends and key focal points, offering valuable insights for researchers to comprehend significant contributions and steer future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the world population growth, energy consumption and the rapid development of industrial economy, a large amount of carbon emissions has brought destruction and threats to the earth's environment on which human beings depend. The development of low-carbon economy has become the consensus of governments all over the world and has been vigorously advocated & promoted. This paper focuses on the top five global GDP nations in 2022: The United States, China, Japan, Germany, and Britain. A comprehensive evaluation index system of urban low-carbon economic development level is constructed from four dimensions: economic development level, environmental quality, energy consumption emission intensity and social development speed by using literature review and field interview. The evaluation measures are determined using the TOPSIS evaluation method with entropy weight and the grey relational model, providing a comprehensive assessment of the low-carbon economy's development level in these five countries." Judging from the comprehensive evaluation score, the overall development of low-carbon economy in American cities is in good condition and has reached the development standard of low-carbon economy; Germany and Japan rank second and third, and they are low-carbon economies. Britain ranks fourth in comprehensive evaluation, although it belongs to a low-carbon economy country, but there is still a certain gap with Germany and Japan; There is still a big gap between China and the other four countries. Based on the measurement and evaluation outcomes, it presents recommendations and strategies to foster the growth of low-carbon economies, offering valuable insights for the advancement of such economies across different nations. The research results guide countries all over the world to reduce carbon emissions in the process of economic development, protect the earth environment on which human beings depend, and make a better tomorrow for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Information-sharing and flexibility are considered to be major tools for risk mitigation and supply chain resiliency. However, less light has been shed on the role of information-sharing as an enabler to utilize flexibility capabilities before and after supply chain disruptions. The aim of this paper is to provide indications on how digitalized information-sharing (DIS) enhances flexibility capability utilization. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology follows a qualitative approach, including 31 transcribed semi-structured interviews with supply chain experts in Germany and Japan. Findings: The findings indicate that DIS supports flexibility capability utilization in pre- and post-disruptive supply chain management. First, the enhancement of estimated transport time accuracy supports rapid supplier and transport mode adjustment. Second, while the effects of DIS in manufacturing are limited without pre-existing flexibility capabilities, steady internal and external DIS utilizes exciting manufacturing flexibility to cope with disruptions beyond production. Third, track and trace technologies enhance the value of shared data and allow flexibility in the form of demand-oriented distribution, but companies unable to adopt technologies can still enhance flexibility capabilities with DIS using the existing infrastructure. Originality/value: This paper highlights the essential role of digital information-sharing for flexibility utilization in supply chain risk management. While existing studies engaged with flexibility and information-sharing in supply chain risk management, this study contributes by emphasizing digital information-sharing as a key triggering enabler for flexibility in pre- and post-disruptive phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that, although Japan's and Germany's energy transition paths differ in detail, a trend towards decentralisation is clearly evident in both countries. Based on comprehensive screening, own stocktaking and the results of a stakeholder dialogue, this paper highlights the motivation for different local actors to enter the energy market in both countries. Although there are challenges to success in a market dominated by large energy companies, this paper argues that the benefits to local communities outweigh the efforts. Overall, it is shown that democratisation and the decentralisation of the energy system are suitable to facilitate a successful transformation process in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peace Education is considered to be an important pillar in preventing armed conflict and promoting positive peace. The aim of this article is to understand if education systems help development of peace processes in post-conflict settings and if the idea of implementing Peace Education into the formal curriculum could advance prospects for peace. In the paper three case studies are investigated more deeply – Japan, Germany and the South Caucasus. The article uses secondary sources to present the issue. The literature review includes academic books, articles, and official declarations of international organizations. The paper concludes that examples of integrating Peace Education principles in formal school education curriculums are not numerous, and the lack of a comprehensive data on Peace Education around the world could have been the reason that prevented governments from seeing the importance of implementing Peace Education within their national education systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the acceptance of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) in Japan, the UK and Germany and speculates on the implications for policy and practice. Three on-line surveys of 3,000 members of the public in total, which were conducted in January 2017 (Japan), March 2018 (UK) and November/December 2018 (Germany) were analysed using Principal Component Analysis and then with an Ordered Logit Model. It finds that acceptance of AVs was higher amongst people with higher expectations of the benefits of AVs, those with less knowledge of AVs, and those with lower perceptions of risk. It also finds frequent drivers and car passengers to be more accepting, but that socio-economic factors were mostly insignificant. Finally, there were significant cultural differences between the levels of acceptance between Japan (broadly positive), the UK (broadly neutral) and Germany (broadly negative). These findings suggest that AV promoters should raise (or at least maintain) expectations of AVs among the public; engage with the public to reverse the negative perception of AVs; address AV-generated fears; not bother targeting people by socio-economic group; target frequent car drivers and passengers with information about what AVs could do for them; and target countries where AVs already enjoy a positive image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental issues are among the most critical issues nowadays. These issues are no longer confined to individual countries, and international society has been progressing in building global dialogues since the early 1970s. Within these international efforts, Germany and Japan have played essential roles in global environmental governance. However, there are major differences in nation-level environmental policies in both countries. Governance based on network structure is more efficient than that based on hierarchy for solving complex problems. The network structure is formed through horizontal cooperation among various autonomous actors, and the relationship intensity among actors is one of the key concepts in the governance. Using social network analysis as a framework to explain complicated societal structures explains how interaction among actors creates networks, and these networks further affect their interactions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the structure of environmental policy governance as collaborative governance in Germany and Japan. To address this goal, this paper analyzes the relationship between the informational dimension of governance networks and its complement resource-sharing networks in both countries. The results show that the information-sharing networks have lower-level network influence on the resource-sharing networks as higher-level networks even if not all of the information factors have singular influences. The results suggest that the information-sharing networks may be one of the pieces of the puzzle for explaining this phenomenon in environmental governance in Germany and Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to identify the most prolific countries in the field of special education and to discuss the widespread impact of their papers by taking into account the country's h-index. Through a bibliometric analysis, the data were collected in the Web of Science Core Collection category "Education, Special" in the Social Science Citation Index during 2011-2020. The 25 most prolific countries in the field of special education were determined in terms of paper productivity, and it was seen that the leading country was undisputedly the USA (54.42%). Meanwhile, a strong positive correlation was found between the h-index and the number of papers published by the countries (r=0.864). On the other hand, when the ranking in terms of the number of papers was reconfigured by the h-index, it was relatively changed. The possible reasons for this change for the countries with the most changing rankings were discussed by considering some definitive criteria such as the journal quartiles, the percentage of international and domestic, and the percentage of open access papers. This study reports a positive correlation between the quality and quantity in the field of special education for the publications of countries. It has been shown that where the positive correlation deviates, then especially, the journal quartiles, the percentage of international collaboration and the percentage of open access papers have a significant effect. The bibliometric findings may be useful to enrich the discussion about the widespread impact of papers and debate whether the use of h-index is acceptable for cross-national comparisons.

This paper examines WWII forced labour memory politics in Germany and Japan by drawing from Barkan's concept of amending historical injustices. After lengthy negotiations, germany reached in 2000 a milestone agreement compensating victims individually, while in Japan, settlements, consolation payments and apologies have been overshadowed by a revival of revisionist historical narratives and victim denial. It is argued that the official recognition of forced labour as historical injustice made a mutually acceptable outcome possible in Germany and helped to shape a genuine historical memory in victim nations. In Japan, by contrast, an alliance of politicians, bureaucrats and academics has been reconsecrating revisionism as official position. The revisionist inability to recognize victims and admit mistakes has implications for South Korea as the rift between right-wing pro-revisionists and left-wing nationalists divides the country and prevents the formation of a shared collective memory. unintended consequences have dimmed prospects for a settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we develop a comprehensive Vector Autoregression Model consisting of five variables; the stock market and price indices of pairs of countries, as well as their bilateral nominal exchange rate. Then, we show that under certain long-run restrictions, our approach encompasses a large number of specifications encountered in the voluminous literature on testing for capital integration with cointegration techniques. This approach minimizes the risk of accepting the null of no cointegration between the equity price indices because of the introduction of additional stochastic trends through the transformation of those indices on a "real or nominal US dollar" basis. Furthermore, other interesting long run specifications emerge either with I(1) only stochastic shocks or with the presence of some I(2) disturbances characterizing the system. We apply the testing methodology on monthly data for the US, UK, Germany, and Japan for the period January 1980-May 2019. The main findings provide partial support in favor of cointegration, and therefore for capital markets integration, among stock market indices when proper attention is given to issues like the identification and temporal stability of the cointegration vectors as well as the choice of units that the stock indices are expressed in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess rates of traversing barriers to care to access optimal clinical outcomes in people with migraine internationally. Background: People in need of medical care for migraine should consult a health care professional knowledgeable in migraine management, obtain an accurate diagnosis, and receive an individualized treatment plan, which includes scientific society guideline-recommended treatments where appropriate. Methods: The Chronic Migraine Epidemiology and Outcomes-International (CaMEO-I) Study was a cross-sectional, web-based survey conducted from July 2021 through March 2022 in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States (US). Respondents who met modified International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition, criteria for migraine and had Migraine Disability Assessment Scale (MIDAS) scores of ≥ 6 (i.e., mild, moderate, or severe disability) were deemed to need medical care and were included in this analysis. Minimally effective treatment required that participants were currently consulting a health care professional for headache (barrier 1), reported an accurate diagnosis (barrier 2), and reported use of minimally appropriate pharmacologic treatment (barrier 3; based on American Headache Society 2021 Consensus Statement recommendations). Proportions of respondents who successfully traversed each barrier were calculated, and chi-square tests were used to assess overall difference among countries. Results: Among 14,492 respondents with migraine, 8,330 had MIDAS scores of ≥ 6, were deemed in need of medical care, and were included in this analysis. Current headache consultation was reported by 35.1% (2926/8330) of respondents. Compared with the US, consultation rates and diagnosis rates were statistically significantly lower in all other countries except France where they were statistically significantly higher. Total appropriate treatment rates were also statistically significantly lower in all other countries compared with the US except France, which did not differ from the US. All 3 barriers were traversed by only 11.5% (955/8330) of respondents, with differences among countries (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Of people with migraine in need of medical care for migraine, less than 15% traverse all 3 barriers to care. Although rates of consultation, diagnosis, and treatment differed among countries, improvements are needed in all countries studied to reduce the global burden of migraine. Trial registration: NA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Involving the global issues as listed in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in education is necessarily done in the education process, especially in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning. Exposure to global issues is known to improve students' understanding, awareness, and ability to solve urgent issues faced by global society. This paper aims to find out the trend of research on the coverage of SDGs in students' learning process. This systematic literature analysis was done by applying Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Method. A total of 25 studies were recognized through a systematic search by using Sustainability, SDGs, and EFL as keywords. The result shows that the trend of associating SDGs with EFL settings was done mostly in Indonesia. In the recent year 2022, it reached the highest number of studies in the particular matter with 7 total of research. It was also found that the study involving SDGs on EFL learning was mostly done in the tertiary setting, compared with K-12, junior high school, secondary, high school, and other educational institutions. It was also discovered that the specific area of study enhances EFL students' learning achievement, environmental awareness, global citizen values, as well as students' levels of self-norms, beliefs, and self-value.

Purpose Elders' ICT usage is one of the central subjects of ISG. The cabinet office of Japan has conducted "The International Comparative Survey on the Daily Life and Attitudes of the Elderly" every five years, covering individual men and women aged 60 and over (excluding institutionalized residents) in Japan and three foreign countries. The survey provides information on matters related to home life, health and welfare, economic life, employment, housing and living environment, and social relations and purpose in life of the elderly in the countries. The latest 2021 survey has been done in Japan, Germany, Sweden, and the US (https://www.e-stat.go.jp/statsearch/files?page=1&layout=dataset&toukei=00100106&metadata=1&data=1). In Japan and Sweden, 2,500 participants each country were invited by mail. In Germany and the US, 1,000 participants per country were asked by phone. All participants were chosen by random sampling. The survey period was from Dec. 2020 to Jan. 2021. The result of the survey was open for further analysis and research. Survey data was counted and provided as simple tables or cross tables. In this paper, we chose Q.34, Usage of ICT devices, and Q.35, Reason for not-to-use of such devices. The latter question was asked to participants who responded that they are not using any ICT devices. We have analyzed survey data with Correspondence Analysis to reveal four countries of elders' ICT usage features. Method Two question branches are analyzed in this research. Q34 has nine activity categories. All appropriate activities should be answered (multiple answers): 1. Fax to family members and friends, 2. PC e-mail to family and friends, 3. Mobile phone calls (including mail) to family and friends, 4. Net search for information and/or net shopping, 5. Using SNS, 6. Home Page making or Blogging, 7. Netbanking / Net trading, 8. E-government (tax etc.), 9. No ICT usage. Q35: 1. No needs regarded, 2. ICT devices are hard to understand, 3. Have interest, but no clues for purchase/shop, 4. Have no one to instruct device usage, 5. The problem of price/money, 6. The display is unreadable, 7. other reasons. Correspondence analysis was computed with the FactoMineR package (http://factominer.free.fr/), developed by statisticians at d'Agrocampus Rennes. Analysis was done on statistical computing environment R 4.1.2. Results and Discussion Figures 1 and 2 show the ICT device usage. Japanese favor Mobile phone talk and mail. In Japan, Fax and No ICT usage has larger than in other countries. SNS, HP/blogging, E-government, and Netbanking are relatively minor. US participants favor SNS, PC mail, and HP/blogging. Swedish more favors SNS, Netbanking, and E-government. Germans favor Net searching and shopping and are close to the countries average. Figures 3 and 4 show the reasons for not-to-use ICT devices. Germans with negative ICT device attitude tend to think they do not need to use them. A negative attitude in the US is slightly close to having no instructor. Japanese negative attitude is close to readability problem and understanding device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Starting from industry 4.0 in Germany and followed by the New Strategy for American Innovation in the USA and the smartization strategy in Japan, developed countries are pushing nation-wide innovation strategies. Similarly, China is pursuing the Made in China 2025, and Korea announced the Manufacturing Industry Innovation 3.0 strategy. However, few researchers have identified the industrial structure that establishes the foundation of the 4th Industrial Revolution or have derived strengths and weaknesses to provide implications on policy formulation through quantitative comparison with developed countries. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the spillover effect of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry (the foundation of the 4th Industrial Revolution) and machinery·equipment industry (the foundation of smart manufacturing through convergence with ICT industry).Design/methodology/approach This study examines the industrial spillover effects of the ICT industry and machinery·equipment industry in the USA, Germany, Japan, China and Korea by using the World Input–Output Table from 2000 to 2014.Findings The results showed that backward linkage effect of the ICT Industry are high in the order of Korea≑China>Japan>the USA≑Germany, and forward linkage effect of the ICT industry are high in the order of Japan ≑> the USA≑Korea ≑> China ≑> Germany. Backward linkage effects of the machinery·equipment industry are high in the order of China>Japan≑Korea>the USA>Germany, and forward linkage effects of the machinery·equipment industry are high in the order of China>Korea>Germany≑Japan≑the USA.Practical implications China and Korea encourage active government investment in ICT and machinery·equipment industries, especially the intentional convergence between ICT and machinery·equipment industries is expected be generate higher synergy. The "innovation in manufacturing" strategy in the USA that utilizes its strength in ICT services seems appropriate, whereas Germany needs to revitalize the ICT industry to strengthen its manufacturing industry. Japan's strategy is to focus its ICT capabilities on robot sector. While the scope of innovation is limited, its synergy is worth expecting.Originality/value This study attempted to provide a theoretical approach to the determination of national policy strategies and provide practical implications for response to the impacts of the 4th Industrial Revolution, by comparing the inducement effects of ICT and machinery·equipment industries between major countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion of opportunity in higher education and the recognition of the influence of academic research on economic development have motivated policy reforms in many national systems of higher education including Japan. Many of these national reforms involve facilitating market forces in higher education, which is a new context for many universities. What has been learned about the impacts of these policies on the university sector? This paper will review research on the three primary policy instruments for creating market competition in a sector: policies altering the basic conditions of a market -- the framework laws and values within which universities operate; policies affecting market structure -- the number of buyers and sellers, the pricing of goods and services, freeing and simulating markets; and policies directly affecting the conduct of buyers and sellers -- government regulation and the provision of information. Given the recent regulatory developments in Japanese higher education, the paper will particularly focus on the design of quality assurance policies in the university sector.

What is it about afterschool that gives it so much potential to powerfully influence educational best practices around the world? This paper will explore what truly defines "afterschool" beyond the time- and location-based pedagogy of the term and will make the case for the use of "expanded learning" or "expanded opportunities" as the terms that most clearly describe this critical time of youth learning and development. This paper will explore the cultural and bureaucratic differences countries have that influence how young people spend their time and what those differences say about a country's views on child development and its aspirations for its youth. Beyond an exploration of cultural differences, this paper will also discuss the trends that are influencing our international efforts to shift the view of expanded learning programs beyond a safe place to keep children occupied while their parents work, toward a fundamental space for child development and educational innovation.

The projected introduction of conditional automated driving systems to the market has sparked multifaceted research on human–machine interfaces (HMIs) for such systems. By moderating the roles of the human driver and the driving automation system, the HMI is indispensable in avoiding side effects of automation such as mode confusion, misuse, and disuse. In addition to safety aspects, the usability of HMIs plays a vital role in improving the trust and acceptance of the automated driving system. This paper aggregates common research methods and findings based on an extensive literature review. Empirical studies, frameworks, and review articles are included. Findings and conclusions are presented with a focus on study characteristics such as test cases, dependent variables, testing environments, or participant samples. These methods and findings are discussed critically, taking into consideration requirements for usability assessments of HMIs in the context of conditional automated driving. The paper concludes with a derivation of recommended study characteristics framing best practice advice for the design of experiments. The advised selection of scenarios and metrics will be applied in a future validation study series comprising a driving simulator experiment and three real driving experiments on test tracks in Germany, the USA, and Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Wheat allergy (WA), characterized by immunological responses to wheat proteins, is a gluten-related disorder that has become increasingly recognized in recent years. Bibliometrics involves the quantitative assessment of publications within a specific academic domain. Objectives: We aimed to execute an extensive bibliometric study, focusing on the past 30 years of literature related to wheat allergy. Methods: We searched the Web of Science database on 5th Dec 2023. We used the KEYWORDS: "wheat allergy or wheat anaphylaxis or wheat hypersensitivity," "gliadin allergy or gliadin anaphylaxis or gliadin hypersensitivity," "wheatdependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis," and "baker's asthma" for our search. All items published between 1993 and 2023 were included. The top 100 most cited articles were identified and analyzed. Results: Our study conducted an in-depth bibliometric analysis of the 100 mostcited articles in the field of wheat allergy, published between 2002 and 2019. These articles originated from 20 different countries, predominantly Japan and Germany. The majority of these articles were centered on the pathogenesis and treatment of wheat allergy (WA). The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI) was the most prolific contributor to this list, publishing 14 articles. The article with the highest citation count was published by Biomed Central (BMC) and garnered 748 citations. The peak citation year was 2015, with a total of 774 citations, while the years 1998, 2001, and 2005 saw the highest publication frequency, each with 7 articles. Conclusion: Our study aims to provide physicians and researchers with a historical perspective for the scientific progress of wheat allergy, and help clinicians effectively obtain useful articles that have a significant impact on the field of wheat allergy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the variables having impact on the student motivation have been analyzed based on the articles, conference papers, master's theses and doctoral dissertations published in the years 2000-2017. A total of 165 research papers were selected for the research material and the data were collected through qualitative research techniques through document review and content analysis. According to the research results, the most important factors affecting student motivation are the fields of teacher, teachers' classroom management skills and their teaching methods. In this research, factors having less influence on the student motivation are parental communication, student characteristics and study fields. In addition, relational search type was used more than others, mostly students were selected as the study group and most researches were conducted in USA and Turkey.

This article maps the scientific production and the contents associated with the sustainable development goals and their integration with universities during the past 21 years. Although many of the topics related to sustainable development goals (SDGs) have been addressed in different studies for decades, it is since 2015 onwards that they gained greater prominence due to the inclusion of higher education as an important actor in the fulfillment of the 2030 agenda and the United Nations SDGs. For the purpose of this paper, a bibliometric analysis of 871 papers, 535 documents in Scopus, and 336 in Web of Science (WoS) from 1998 to 2019 was performed, and the Bibliometrix analysis tool was used. The objective of this mapping is to answer the following research question: Is the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals and Universities a field of study? An analysis of the network of collaborators and trend topics in Scopus and WoS allows us to identify the concurrence and relationships of some keywords, such as sustainable development, sustainability and planning, and some background words, such as humans and global health. In another analysis, the word "higher education" is related to change. This article suggests that the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals in Universities is becoming a field of study under exploration, with a peak of production in 2016 and that has remained stable in the last three years, but thanks to the leading role assigned to Universities, intellectual production should increase in the following years.

The transfer of vocational education and training (VET) systems is currently the subject of lively international debate, but there has so far been very little documentation of the process or analysis of how such transfers are achieved in practical terms. This paper therefore considers the potential for transferring Germany's "dual" vocational training system to German subsidiaries abroad, specifically in China, India, Japan and the USA. Using the EPRG typology as a theoretical framework, the paper systematises the range of training strategies deployed by German subsidiaries. It analyses the findings of interviews with training officers and Directors of Human Resources in more than 40 German subsidiaries abroad. These interviews show clearly that local factors in the host country exert such a strong influence that it is not possible completely to transfer the German VET system to another country. What is more likely is that an accommodation is reached with local VET structures, local labour market conditions and other socio-cultural features. The findings suggest that policy borrowing in the area of VET is likely to be only partial and will be strongly influenced by the national characteristics of the host country.

Using data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, this paper compares the earnings premium and employment share of jobs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) across 11 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The results reveal that the STEM wage premium is higher in the United States than in any of the other comparison countries, despite the fact that the U.S. has a larger share of workers in STEM jobs. We also find evidence that the premium varies significantly across STEM sub-fields and education levels, and that the premium tends to be higher in countries with lower unionization rates, less employment protection, or a larger share of employment in the public sector.

This paper compared technical/vocational education in: Germany, Australia, Finland, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and Nigeria, and found that technical/vocational education was given proper attention in countries considered except Nigeria, where it was handled with laissez faire attitude. Set-Up of Technical/Vocational Schooling, Curriculum, Mode of Training and Conduct of Final Examination, Financing and Motivating Factor was the basis for comparison, and Nigeria lagged behind in these. Amongst the lessons for Nigeria's technical/vocational education sector are that her technical/vocational education sector be dual, while students should be appropriately motivated. Schools should collaborate with registered organizations (work-integrated learning) to train the students. The paper recommended that there should be national conference strictly on the status of technical/vocational education in Nigeria, so that necessary solutions could be proffered to the problems facing this part of the education sector. Finally, manufacturing organizations, etc. should be involved in the drafting of curriculum of the technical/vocational education in the country, while taking into consideration peculiarities of Nigeria as a sovereign nation.

Background: The medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) has been investigated widely in the past 30 years, resulting in many research achievements in this field. Purpose: To perform a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to evaluate the 100 top-cited articles on the MPFL. Study design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: We searched the Scopus database in December 2022 using the terms "medial patellofemoral ligament" OR "MPFL." The search was confined to English-language articles, including technical notes, systematic reviews on clinical outcomes and/or complications, clinical studies, studies regarding complications, and basic science articles (either cadaveric or biomechanical); we excluded letters, case reports, personal opinions, guidelines, editorials, and narrative or other types of reviews. Analysis of the 100 top-cited articles was performed according to total number of citations, average citations per year (ACY), study type, country of origin, journal of publication, affiliated institution, and most published authors. Results: The total number of citations was 16,358 (range of citations per article, 72-692). The majority of articles were published as clinical studies (54%), with cadaveric studies being the second most common (21%). Most studies originated in the United States (32%), with Japan (15%) and Germany (13%) following. The American Journal of Sports Medicine published the majority of the 100 top-cited articles (37/100; 6304 citations) as well as the 10 top-cited articles according to ACY (7/10; mean, 285.14 citations). The most prolific authors were Nomura (8 articles); Burks (6 articles); and Inoue, Sillanpää, and Dreyhaupt (5 articles each). Conclusion: By analyzing the characteristics of the 100 top-cited articles, this study demonstrated that the MPFL is a growing and popular area of research, with the focus varying through timeline trends. Questions regarding MPFL anatomy, isometry, and biomechanics might have been answered adequately, but research regarding optimal fixation technique under various circumstances is still ongoing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the extent to which intraday price jumps and co-jumps in cryptocurrency markets stem from the release of macroeconomic news from the U.S., Germany and Japan. Using 5-min frequency prices for Bitcoin and Ethereum quoted against the U.S. dollar over the 2016–2019 period, we find that intraday price jumps are three times more frequent in Ethereum than in Bitcoin. More importantly, we show that jumps in Ethereum are more sensitive to macroeconomic news than jumps in Bitcoin, and that U.S. news releases exhibit higher influence on jumps in both cryptocurrencies than German and Japanese news announcements. We also find that co-jumps among Bitcoin and Ethereum are scarce and tend be associated only with a few U.S. news announcements, and in particular those related to the unemployment rate, new home sales, housing starts and Fed Beige Book. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present research we tested the differential effects of anger versus shame as emotional predictors of ingroup disidentification in one rather collectivistic (Japan) and two rather individualistic societies (Germany, Canada). We tested the idea that individuals cope with socially undesired emotions by disidentifying from their group. Specifically, we predicted that after a group conflict, anger, an undesired emotion in Japan, would elicit disidentification in Japan, whereas shame, an undesired emotion in Canada and Germany, would elicit disidentification in Germany and Canada. Study 1 (N = 378) found that anger, but not shame, was related to disidentification in Japan, whereas shame, but not anger, was related to disidentification in Canada and Germany. Study 2 (N = 171) shows that, after group conflict, Japanese disidentified more when imagining to feel angry, whereas Germans disidentified more when imagining to feel ashamed. Implications for these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies a sentiment index to check the influence of regional developed countries like Japan and Germany on the sentiments in regional developing countries like Pakistan and Turkey, respectively. The index has been created using a principal component approach with modified proxies. The results indicate that there is a significant influence of developed markets on developing markets also the sentiment index created in this study is good indicator regarding the return pattern of the stock exchange. This study has followed the footsteps of previous studies for methodology and the time period which is used ranged from 29 December 2004 to 31 December 2014. The weekly data has been collected with Wednesday prices so to avoid the white noise, start-of-the week and end-of-the week effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preschool education is an education process that prepares children for primary education, provides the training and upbringing conditions in the home and also aims to remove the inequalities in terms of language and society in the early period. The audit is to evaluate learning and all the factors that affect learning and also prepare the environment and conditions for effective learning. The purpose of this research was to develop a comprehensive point of view for preschool education audit in the world and our country. Document analysis that is one of the qualitative research methods were utilized in this paper as the method. The documents related to the systems in France, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Russia, China, Israel, America, Saudi Arabia, Japan, India Jordan, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Kosovo and Turkey were researched out within the scope of this study.

Seamless learning has a significance that has been increasing in recent years, and an increasing number of studies on the subject in the literature draws attention. This study aimed to examine the research on seamless learning between 1996 and 2020 with the bibliometric analysis method. The Scopus database was used in the collection of the data. After various screening processes, a total of 389 publications were included in the analysis. Descriptive analysis and bibliometric analysis were used in the analysis of the data. The distribution of publications by years, types of publications, sources, and languages were analyzed in the research. Additionally, visual maps were created with analyses of co-author, cocitation, and co-word. At the end of the study, it was seen that there has been an increase in the number of publications from the past to the present, articles and papers were predominant, and that most of the studies were carried out in English. As a result of bibliometric analysis, it was concluded that the most efficient countries in seamless learning were the United Kingdom, the United States, and Singapore. Also, it has been determined that the National Institute of Education, Center for International Education and Exchange, and Kyushu University institutions are dominant. The most frequently mentioned authors cited in studies in many different fields are M. Sharples, L.-H. Wong, and H. Ogata. According to the co-word analysis, the keywords seamless learning, mobile learning, ubiquitous learning, and mobile-assisted language learning stand out in the field of seamless learning.

In this paper the results of an online survey (n=210) regarding the usefulness of Facebook for informal L2 learning will be presented. Participants were individual Facebook users who study either German (n=118) or Japanese (n=92). By using a combination of open and closed questions, the mostly quantitative findings of the survey indicate that for most participants Facebook is a suitable tool for improving their L2 skills, because the network enables them to establish or to maintain social contacts with native speakers and to have authentic opportunities to express themselves in the L2. As particularly effective activities, participants mentioned reading and writing L2 posts on the networks' timeline, exchanging private messages, and commenting on friends' posts. As far as effects on L2 learning are concerned, most participants noted an improvement in their reading and writing skills, as well as an expansion of their vocabulary and cultural understanding. Some respondents, however, raised concerns about the formal correctness of the language they encounter on the network as well as insecurity regarding communication with strangers. The information participants provided on their informal use of Facebook led to the conclusion, that learners of L2 German and learners of L2 Japanese show similar tendencies in using the network for their L2 learning. In contrast to using social networks in educational settings, their informal use allows learners much more freedom to decide when, how often, with whom, on which topic, and in which way they wish to interact in their target language on the network.

This paper reports on the first stage of an international comparative study for the project "'Digital educational architectures: Open learning resources in distributed learning infrastructures--EduArc,'" funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. This study reviews the situation of digital educational resources (or (O)ER) framed within the digital transformation of ten different Higher Education (HE) systems (Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and the United States). Following a comparative case study approach, we investigated issues related to the existence of policies, quality assurance mechanisms and measures for the promotion of change in supporting infrastructure development for (O)ER at the national level in HE in the different countries. The results of this mainly documentary research highlight differences and similarities, which are largely due to variations in these countries' political structure organisation. The discussion and conclusion point at the importance of understanding each country's context and culture, in order to understand the differences between them, as well as the challenges they face.

Education in Mexico has not evolved in the way it is taught and evaluated. In the historical moment that postmodernism enters, it has not been possible to adapt to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), or rapid technological innovation, or changes and trends in the industry, to the sharing economy or the rise of distance races. In its analysis, an essential deficiency is detected in the current education models, and it is detected that educational freedom is nil or scarce, which has led to poor student performance, high youth unemployment, which cause severe social problems and the economy of the economy. The current government is working closely with the private sector to connect education and promote employment. It is necessary to grant public schools more autonomy, freedom and responsibility. This paper explains how to act so that Mexico can adapt education 4.0 with solid steps to reach society 5.0.

Forests have provided support for human health and survival since ancient times. With improved public awareness of health issues and the importance of forest ecological functions, forest therapy has gradually gained momentum. Forest therapies have been applied around the world as preventive and alternative therapies to promote human health. As a safe, side-effect-free, low-cost, preventive, and alternative therapy, forest therapy has been scientifically proven to promote physical and mental health in humans. However, the forest therapy service system is still underdeveloped, and forest therapy has not become a mainstream part of clinical medical treatment methods in most countries worldwide. Therefore, in order to better present the development path and current situation of forest therapy in different countries and provide guidance for how other countries can develop similar interventions and clinical sites to base these activities, this study uses Germany, Japan, and China as examples to systematically tease out how forest therapy has developed and the status of forest therapy services in different countries, as well as the health benefits of forest therapy. Furthermore, the key components and traditional cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds related to forest therapy are discussed. Finally, based on published empirical research, we believe that forest therapy can be a solution to public health problems thanks to its multiple, medically proven health benefits. Forest therapy facilitates the return of people to the forest and nature to achieve health and well-being effects. However, there is a need for more research on the mechanisms (such as the immune system, endocrine system, nervous system, etc.) underlying forest therapy's effectiveness, which should include strengthened collaborations between disciplines. In addition, the role of forest therapy services in promoting human health needs to be emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to advance our knowledge in the genesis of extreme climatic events with the dual aim of improving forecasting methods while clarifying the role played by anthropogenic warming. Wavelet analysis is used to highlight the role of coherent Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies produced from short-period oceanic Rossby waves resonantly forced, with two case studies: a Marine Heatwave (MHW) that occurred in the northwestern Pacific with a strong climatic impact in Japan, and an extreme flood event that occurred in Germany. Ocean–atmosphere interactions are evidenced by decomposing state variables into period bands within the cross-wavelet power spectra, namely SST, Sea Surface Height (SSH), and the zonal and meridional modulated geostrophic currents as well as precipitation height, i.e., the thickness of the layer of water produced during a day, with regard to subtropical cyclones. The bands are chosen according to the different harmonic modes of the oceanic Rossby waves. In each period band, the joint analysis of the amplitude and the phase of the state variables allow the estimation of the regionalized intensity of anomalies versus their time lag in relation to the date of occurrence of the extreme event. Regarding MHWs in the northwestern Pacific, it is shown how a warm SST anomaly associated with the northward component of the wind resulting from the low-pression system induces an SST response to latent and sensible heat transfer where the latitudinal SST gradient is steep. The SST anomaly is then shifted to the north as the phase becomes homogenized. As for subtropical cyclones, extreme events are the culmination of exceptional circumstances, some of which are foreseeable due to their relatively long maturation time. This is particularly the case of ocean–atmosphere interactions leading to the homogenization of the phase of SST anomalies that can potentially contribute to the supply of low-pressure systems. The same goes for the coalescence of distinct low-pressure systems during cyclogenesis. Some avenues are developed with the aim of better understanding how anthropogenic warming can modify certain key mechanisms in the evolution of those dynamic systems leading to extreme events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores faculty's perspectives and use of open educational resources (OER) and their repositories across different countries by conducting a multiple case study to find similarities and differences between academics' awareness, perceptions and use of OER, as well as examining related aspects of institutional policy and quality that may influence individual views. Data were collected through nine expert reports on each country studied (Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Spain and Turkey) and were analyzed through qualitative content analysis using thematic coding. Findings show the impact on individual OER adoption with regard to the individual control of diverse factors by faculty members; of institutional policies and quality measures on the externally determined factors (by the institution); and of institutional professional development and provision of incentives in more internally determined factors (by the faculty members themselves). These findings carry implications for higher education institutions around the world in their attempt to boost OER adoption by faculty members.

Spatial planners deal with aspects related to the quality of life and future development of cities and regions, which are highly relevant for society. Due to various institutional and cultural settings, spatial planning systems emerged with comparable features. However, such systems have been adapted to specific cultural, normative, and spatial conditions. In our study, we conducted a comparison to investigate changes in planning cultures in the context of shrinking cities across the USA, Germany and Japan. The findings make it possible to detect interdependencies between changes in planning cultures and societal changes in the wake of shrinkage processes and potentially to place planning cultures in the perspective of a refiguration of spaces. We conclude with the hypothesis that planning cultures are framed by an array of factors in a somewhat polycontexturalized mode, such as geographic entities (nations, regions, cities), and also topics such as shrinking cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately a third of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) items in the core domains (math, reading, and science) are constructed-response items and require human coding (scoring). This process is time-consuming, expensive, and prone to error as often (a) humans code inconsistently, and (b) coding reliability in international large-scale assessments varies across items and countries. The shift in PISA 2015 from paper- to computer-based assessment digitized all responses and associated coding, thus providing opportunities to introduce technology and analytical methods to improve data processing and analyses in future cycles. In this computer-based setting, this research explains the framework and approach for improving the accuracy and efficiency of the coding process in constructed-response items for future PISA cycles. In the pilot study associated with this research, we demonstrate how the proposed machine-supported coding system can be utilized using sample reading items from the PISA 2015 cycle.

Organisations attempt to contribute their share towards fighting the climate crisis by trying to reduce their emission of greenhouse gases effectively towards net zero. An instrument to guide their reduction efforts is internal carbon pricing. Next to choosing the right pricing tool, defining the exact value of an internal carbon price, especially against the background of potential regulatory external carbon prices, and assessing its impact on business units' energy systems poses a challenge for organisations. The academic literature has so far not examined the impact differences of an internal carbon price across different countries, which this paper addresses by using an optimisation model. First, it analyses the energy system cost increase of a real-world facility based on an internal carbon price compared to a potential regulatory carbon price within a country. Second, we evaluate the energy system cost increase based on an internal carbon price across different countries. The results show that with regard to internal carbon prices the additional total system cost compared to potential external carbon prices stays within 9%, 15%, and 59% for Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom, respectively. The increase in the energy system cost in each country varies between 3% and 93%. For all countries, the cost differences can be reduced by allowing the installation of renewables. The integration of renewables via energy storage and power-to-heat technologies depends on the renewable potentials and the availability of carbon capture and storage. If organisations do not account for these differences, it might raise the disapproval of internal carbon prices within the organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical outcomes in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) vary across different regions. Objective: To describe clinical profiles in Japanese and German NMOSD patients. Methods: Medical records of aquaporin-4-immunoglobulin G (AQP4-IgG) positive NMOSD patients from Japan (n = 54) and Germany (n = 38) were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The disability status was similar between both cohorts, although Japanese patients had a longer disease duration (13.3 ± 11.1 vs. 8.1 ± 6.9 years, p = 0.018) but similar relapse rates. Optic neuritis and myelitis were the most frequent attacks in both cohorts. Brain attacks occurred more frequently in Japanese patients (40.7% vs. 15.8%, p = 0.020). The time from disease onset (median [interquartile range] 2.3 [0.3-10.1] vs. 0.6 [0.2-1.9] years, p = 0.009) and the number of attacks (2.5 [1-7] vs. 2 [1-3], p = 0.047) until start of the first immunotherapy were higher in the Japanese cohort. Rituximab was the most common drug in the German cohort (52.6%) and not given in the Japanese cohort (p < 0.001), where oral prednisolone was the most common drug (92.6% vs. 15.8%, p < 0.001). The frequency of autoimmune comorbidities was higher in the German cohort (39.5% vs. 18.5%, p = 0.047). Conclusion: Compared with Japanese NMOSD patients, German patients presented with similar disability despite shorter disease duration and earlier and more frequent immunosuppressive therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]