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This paper presents the importance of the visual expression of factor decomposition in regression analysis, which is particularly worthwhile for undergraduate students whose majors are not mathematics but social science. The conventional purpose of regression analysis is to examine specific hypotheses empirically. In particular, the statistical significance of the explanatory variable was tested, which may have been difficult for many students to understand mathematically. To remedy this, factor decomposition is introduced in the same way that human body composition is broken down into water, fat, and muscle. As an illustrative example, multiple regression was applied to the determinants of housing rents in Japan. The explanatory variables were the living area, building age, and walking time from the nearest station. The findings suggest that, with the help of visual expression, a student can easily appreciate which variable significantly affects housing rents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There were three Japanese medical physiologists who studied in Ivan Petrovich Pavlov's laboratory during 1904–1933. They were Hidetsurumaru Ishikawa, Yasutaro Satake, and Takashi Hayashi. The first article concerning Pavlov's theory was written by Ishikawa in 1916. At the same time, a psychologist, Genji Kuroda, also wrote an essay on Pavlov's theory. They were motivated to write the articles by a false report of Pavlov's death in 1916. Satake carried out experimental work using dogs, but he did not cite Pavlov's scientific works. Hayashi worked hard according to Pavlov's research methods. A psychologist, Yasho Kotake, first published a paper based on Pavlov's theory inJapanese Journal of Psychologyin 1943. However, these experiments did not seem to be research in the psychological field because his research program was very different to traditional Japanese psychological research. Although the introduction of behaviorism into Japan occurred in the 1910s, the reception of Pavlov's theory was delayed. The process of the reception of Pavlov's theory in Japan was different to that in the USA. It seems that the difference is due to the attitudes of psychologists to introspection and the influence of German psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we aim to describe the developing process of early Japanese psychology. This is the story of the institutionalization of psychology in Japan. We deal with the first period of Japanese psychology and trace the process of shaping the discipline of psychology in Japan. We also focus on the life and studies of Motora, who was the first psychology professor in Japan, and those of his students. In 1903, Yuzero Motora opened the first formal laboratory of psychology at Tokyo Imperial University, and in 1904, the first 2-year course in psychology was commenced. Both the laboratory and the two-year course could produce psychology students who studied“new” or experimental psychology. But not all the experimentation resulted in success. We also examine Fukurai's clairvoyance and thoughtgraphy experiments. Although Fukurai was one of the promising students of Motora, he gradually changed interest to parapsychology. Fukurai's adherence to these psychic phenomenon and his isolation from academic society resulted in the removal of clinical psychology from the psychology discipline in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of comparative psychology (also called animal psychology) in Japan, as it developed from 1900 to 1945, is reviewed. After evaluating more than 100 research papers (including short abstracts), six researchers were selected as examples of typical Japanese comparative psychologists in approximately the first half of the 20th century. The chosen researchers, K. Masuda, R. Kuroda, S. Kanda, J. G. Yoshioka, S. Takagi, and T. Takemasa, for the most part focused their research in the areas of learning and perception or basic behavioral traits, commonly known as tropism. They studied a wide variety of subjects, from invertebrates to primates, until the end of World War II, when so-called neo-behaviorism prevailed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although feelings and emotions are a major topic in psychology now, the research history in this area in Japan does not seem to be widely known. The current paper provides an overview of the history of the psychology of feelings and emotions in Japan up to 1970. Before Japan opened its door to the outside world (– 1850s), there were researchers who specialized in Confucianism. In the late 19th century, some Western philosophical psychologists were introduced. In approximately 1903, experimental methods were introduced to Japan, but very few experimental studies were published. In this period, G. S. Hall strongly influenced research directions. At approximately the time of World War Il, although Japanese psychology was influenced by Gestalt psychology, the popularity of Gestalt psychology altered the methods of experimental studies on emotions. After World War Il, American psychology showed a strong impact on Japanese psychology; in particular, the Yale school played a major role in encouraging studies on feelings and emotions in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of this paper is to describe the complexity of relations between man and wild monkeys, which causes difficulties in forming a social consensus related to their conservation and management. To present how the relations are in everyday life, and how they are simplified in universal discursive spaces, interviews and a questionnaire survey have been conducted. As a result, it is clarified that there are three kinds of discursive spaces, that of politics, natural science, and residents. People who share the land with wild monkeys have various terms and stories about their relations with monkeys. The monkeys have various values in the discourse of residents, including many troubles. The existence of monkeys is vivid and close, and can be described as “accessible” nature. However, in discussion of politics or natural sciences, there is less diversity in monkeys’ values. In these discursive spaces, monkeys are described simply in the framework of “distant” nature, and wild monkey issues are constructed as a “pest animal issue”. The simplified protocol between accessible and distant nature makes the wild monkey issues simple. And the attitudes of residents are shown as controversial through the contradiction between simple-complex issues. In conclusion, this contradiction cannot be solved only by filling the gap between accessible and distant nature with social consensus, but also by connecting the two and enhancing the dynamism of society as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Urban Sociology began in Europe at the beginning of the 1970s and then spread to the United States. It also influenced urban studies in Japan. This article examines the changing debates that have occurred in New Urban Sociology since its introduction to Japan in the late 1970s. The twenty years since its introduction from the West can be divided into three stages. The first covers the period from 1977 to 1985, when French urban sociology, particularly Manuael Castells’ theory of the state, was highly influential. The second stage, from 1986 to 1992, focused on theories of urban social movements and the concept of global city in a context of urban renewal in Japan’s major cities. The third stage, from 1992 to the present, is characterized by a transformation of New Urban Sociology into a sociological theory of space under globalization that has been heavily influenced by the work of David Harvey. Née en Europe au début des années 1970, la Nouvelle Sociologie urbaine a ensuite atteint les Etats–Unis, mais elle a aussi influé sur les études urbaines au Japon. L’article examine l’évolution des débats qui ont animé la Nouvelle Sociologie urbaine depuis qu’elle y est arrivée d’Occident à la fin des années 1970. Les vingt années qui ont suivi peuvent se décomposer en trois phases. La première va de 1977 à 1985, alors que la sociologie urbaine française, notamment la théorie de l’État de Manuel Castells, faisait autorité. La deuxième, entre 1986 et 1992, s’attache aux théories des mouvements sociaux urbains et au concept de la ville planétaire (global city) parallèlement à une rénovation des grandes villes nippones. La troisième phase, de 1992 à nos jours, se caractérise par une transformation de la Nouvelle Sociologie urbaine en une théorie sociologique de l’espace soumis à la mondialisation, concept largement inspiré des travaux de David Harvey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capturing the trends and status of urban biodiversity is challenged by current rapid changes, including increasing population flow into urban areas and multiple pressures on neighboring ecosystems. For this reason, this article aims to highlight relevant findings from both ecological and social sciences in the development of urban and biodiversity indicators. It examines the applicability of a model to an urban city in Japan. The objectives of this study are threefold. First, it reviews and summarizes the historical development and relevant existing studies of urban and biodiversity indicators, the “Drivers-Pressure-State-Impact-Response” (DPSIR) model is presented, and its main critiques are summarized. Second, trends in scientific studies in specific journals are identified. Third, practical lessons for a Japanese local municipality, the city of Nagoya, are derived from two previous sets of reviews. The applicability of the “DPSIR” to current practices in the city of Nagoya is examined to assess the relevance of the model to real situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few decades, in examining the social causes of low fertility in advanced societies, sociologists and demographers have shown increasing interest in southern European countries. Italy has been recognized as one of these countries plagued by lowest-low fertility. In general, the literature has depicted certain characteristics of Italian families as possible causes of fertility decline. This article examines the situation of contemporary Italian families and intergenerational relationships from a sociological point of view, particularly in comparison with Japanese families. It has sometimes been argued that strong familism characterizes Italian families and society. According to this view, one of the causes of fertility decline in Italy is the continuity of strong families. Empirical data suggest, however, that this familism perspective cannot explain the differences in family patterns observed among Italian regions. In addition, a comparison between Italy and Japan with respect to intergenerational relationships suggests that there are substantial differences between the two countries. It is suggested that a further exploration of the various aspects of social contexts is needed in order to clarify what is distinctive about contemporary Italian families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article traces the history linking Japanese and Western psychology. Japan was welcoming Western societies at about the same time those Western societies were beginning to establish psychology as a scientific and laboratory-based discipline. The transition of psychology from mainly a basic science to a discipline and profession of science-based application has continued to accelerate in recent decades.

The quantitative increase in psychologists in postwar Japan was investigated by focusing on the distribution of psychology faculties in universities and graduate schools. The status of psychology in the new teacher-training system was acknowledged as the institutional basis for this increase. The growth in the number of universities, graduate schools, faculties, and association memberships related to psychology was analyzed. The results indicated that the initial basis for the increase was the new university curriculum of teacher education, which stipulated that educational psychology and related subjects should be compulsory. As a result, new jobs for psychologists were created in most universities. The establishment of graduate schools was another factor that contributed to the increase in psychologists because it provided psychology researchers for newly established universities. In particular, since the 1990s, graduate schools offering courses in clinical psychology and educational psychology have contributed to the increase in psychologists. The meaning of this increase in psychology in Japanese universities during the current period of university reform is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to contribute to the policy transfer literature through a comparison of the British “Next Steps” initiative of agencification (i.e., organizational separation of policy implementation from policy formulation in central departments) and the Japanese reform that officially proclaimed to be inspired by the British example. In addition to confirming the crucial role played by domestic structural constraints in producing variant outputs in different countries, this article also shows that the transfer of policy ideas can be a highly proactive political process in which political actors in the learning country interpret and define both problems and solution as they “borrow” from another country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on certain events related to sociology which are to be held. The American Documentation Institute has been incorporated on behalf of leading national scholarly, scientific and informational societies to develop and operate facilities that are expected to promote research and knowledge in various intellectual fields. First objective of the new organization will be to develop and apply the new technique of microphotography to library, scholarly, scientific and other material. It will be able to direct scholarly publication by various methods as required by co-operating organizations. The Japanese Sociological Society is now compiling a book in English on the development of sociology in Japan, which is to be presented to the members of the International Congress of Educationists who meet in Tokyo, Japan this Summer. It will contain a section on rural sociology prepared by professor Eitaro Suzuki. Professor Read Bain of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio will be the lecturer during 1937-38 in the department of sociology.