Search

This paper aims to elucidate how informal constraints affect formal rules to change institutions through text mining of newspaper editorials that express public opinion on innovation and of official documents of government innovation policies in Japan. By examining Science and Technology Basic Plans that included new innovation policies, this study found that the interaction of informal constraints and formal rules influenced gradual changes in public opinion from negative to positive. Moreover, it is inferable that such a change in public opinion has led to the government's initiative in the hopes of Cabinet approval rating. Consequently, changes in informal constraints also influenced the transition of contents of the Basic Plans. In short, in-house research and development (R&D) reacted swiftly to a shift of formal institutions designed by government, whereas employment practice (called permanent employment) inherent in Japan's labour market did not immediately respond to changes in formal institutional rules. This may suggest the difference in informal constraints based on the underlying cultural and historical factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joichi Ito, Director of the MIT Media Lab, suggests that the way ahead in education is to support endeavors where learning processes and peer collaborations are valued above end products and exam scores. The divisions and silo-effect of traditional disciplines need to be dismantled and discouraged. Ito calls this antidisciplinary. This paper is an account of an emerging awareness of an antidisciplinary space as undergraduate students designed, built, programmed and created a 3D virtual simulation, termed a Synthetic Learning Environment, viewable in the Oculus Rift Head Mounted Display for elementary understanding of a nuclear power plant accident scenario. The research project did not set out to be antidisciplinary. There was no conscious effort to identify a space and devise ways of working in that space. The antidisciplinary space emerged through pedagogic partnerships and mutually informative collaborations. The emerging antidisciplinary space, with its impact on pedagogical transformation and collaborative learning, is utilized to study the iterative development of the Synthetic Learning Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 1853 Commodore William Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay (then called Edo Bay) determined to end Japan's 220 years of isolation. Recognizing the power of Perry's 'gunboat diplomacy' the Tokugawa Shogunate finally relented and in 1854 opened the ports of Shimoda, south of Tokyo, and Hakodate, in the northernmost island of Hokkaido, to American ships. Disaffected lords in Japan rallied around the Emperor in opposition to the Shogunate's capitulation. This led to civil war, called The Boshin War, between 1868 and 1869. The Emperor's modernized military forces prevailed. Forces loyal to the Tokugawa Shogunate retreated to Hakodate in Hokkaido but were finally defeated in June 1869. Britain's role in subjugating China in late 19th century also had a profound impact on the region. The Japanese rulers, under Emperor Meiji, came to realize that modernization at that time was leaving Japan vulnerable. Subsequently, Japan began to modernize through rapid industrialization informed by western engineers, particularly from Britain, France and USA. What was Japan like in the late 19th century? How did the Japanese citizens react to seeing Perry's gunboats in Edo Bay? What was the relevance of the wars in China? What impact did Britain have on the region at that time? These are questions Japanese children at Elementary school must answer. Therefore, students at Future University Hakodate designed, programmed and delivered a Unity3D educational game aimed at contextualizing the aforementioned events. Following the guidance of Nozomi-chan, a female Japanese avatar, users are tasked with locating information about Edo life, Britain's industrial heritage, China's battle with Britain, and Perry's visit to Hakodate. Users are then tasked to piece together the events as a form of assessment of understanding. The paper details the development of the 3D virtual game, its utilization by Elementary school students, and the observations of the student developers for informed design of future serious educational games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japanese universities and their EFL programs, when seen together, one may get a general sense that policy aims and actual effects show high-sounding slogans with results mainly in the opposite direction (Yoshida, 2019). A lack of a unified approach to EFL education can be explained at the program level when the following three terms are considered: 1) Bricolage, 2) the MAYA Principle, and 3) Intentional Space creation. Professors, often from eclectically different backgrounds, who are charged with curriculum design, hiring and training, and implementing their EFL program need to recognize their shared participation as something within an entire that will always be larger than the sum of what they can contribute. Hence the use of the term bricolage. Bricolage is a French loanword that means the process of improvisation in a human endeavor. The word is derived from the French verb bricoler, to tinker, with the English term DIY ("Do-it-yourself") being the closest equivalent. MAYA stands for: "Most Advanced, Yet Acceptable," a principle initially constructed by industrial designer Raymond Loewy. MAYA provides users, product consumers, teachers, students, coaches, and literally anyone with enough of what they already use and understand with enough new features that are easy to adopt ("Design - Raymond Loewy the first real Mad Man," 2017). MAYA is never applied nor experienced in a vacuum, always within a predetermined space. Within educational settings, MAYA needs to be applied not just in a classroom but to intentional spaces that include and go beyond the classroom. Creating an intentional space is about validating the students and making them feel valued and belong. It is also about building a dynamic, informed community applicable to learners' lives (Bauwens, 2008). So, what makes an EFL program good? Everyone working hard for the students? Is it teaching in an informed, smart manner? These questions and others were shared and discussed at a medium-sized university's EFL program in Japan. Survey results and discussion outcomes will be shared along with case study-like anecdotes and vignettes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research uses the theoretical lens of transnational mixed embeddedness (Bagwell, 2018) to provide an analysis of the institutional embeddedness of South American Ethnic Entrepreneurs (SADEE) in Oizumi Town, Gunma Prefecture. Taking a social-constructive approach, in-depth narrative interviews were combined with document analysis to understand how and to what extent these entrepreneurs become institutionally embedded in life in Japan. Findings of this study will help to inform local policy makers when developing frameworks and systems to support new types of ethnic entrepreneurship. An ethnic business typically starts when an entrepreneur begins serving other members of the ethnic community and satisfies their specific ethnic needs (Greene and Owen, 1992). No better can this be seen than in Japan. Ninety-seven percent of the population of Japan are Japanese, with the remaining 2% classed as ‘foreign nationals.’ Within the 2%, there are a number of residents who have some form of Japanese ethnicity. Specifically, there are significant communities of Brazilians and Peruvians in Japan. Foreign people with Japanese ethnicity are known as Nikkei and many of them emigrate to Japan for work. Some of these dekasegi (in Portuguese, meaning ‘working away from home’) have gained Japanese citizenship or taken advantage of special visas afforded to them to be able to settle in Japan. Many of the Brazilian diaspora have turned to self-employment as a means of upward economic mobility. This study illustrates what institutional embeddedness indicators have impacted upon the SADEEs journey as entrepreneurs in a foreign country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is the continuation of a project conducted on Japanese self-initiated expatriate entrepreneurs (SIEEs) working in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is strategically located between India, China and other countries in Southeast Asia and its growth is providing many new opportunities for outside investment. For Japanese companies, Myanmar is an exciting new investment opportunity. There are currently 149 Japanese companies registered with the Japan Myanmar Association. According to Matsui (2017) in the Nikkei News, Honda Motor opened its 115th dealership in Myanmar in 2017, an increase in 40% from 2016. The current GDP per capita is around $1,300, yet the strategic location of Myanmar in terms of its proximity to India means that purchasing power is higher among the border consumers; it is also likely to be Southeast Asia's fastest-growing economy in 2018 (The World Bank, 2017). Taking a social-constructivist approach, five indepth interviews were conducted with Japanese self-initiated expatriate entrepreneurs in Myanmar. This research shows how these individuals develop their careers overseas and take advantage of the business opportunities presented in emerging economies. By examining these cases we can see the types of mindset that entrepreneurs inhabit, how they navigate their social and cultural identities both inside and outside Japan, and the importance of community and brokerage when building new businesses overseas. Compared to Japanese entrepreneurs in Cambodia, those in Myanmar seem less concerned with social entrepreneurship and more concerned with spotting a key niche in the new market, using their skills and experience to exploit opportunities provided by the presence of larger global companies in the host country and favorable economic conditions. By presenting the entrepreneurs successes and failures empirically, research can be used to inform entrepreneurship education, particularly through developing teaching materials that can provide Japanese young people and entrepreneurs with role models as they seek their own employment opportunities in South East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]