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The article discusses relations between corporate governance, competition, and company performance. It discusses systems of corporate ownership and control across different countries, including the U.S., Japan, and Great Britain. It analyzes recent papers by several researchers on topics including criteria of performance evaluation, hostile takeovers, and executive compensation.

Black and Wiliam (1998a, 1998b) demonstrate that formative assessment is one of the most effective strategies for promoting student learning. Since the publication of their reviews, formative assessment has gained increasing international prominence in both policy and practice. However, despite this early innovation, the theory and practice of formative assessment are currently at a crossroads. It is widely understood that problems emerge when formative assessment is being reduced to a mini-summative assessment or to a series of teaching techniques for coaching to improve grades and levels. On the one hand, a serious threat to the effectiveness of formative assessment occurs when it is assimilated into larger accountability systems such as National Curriculum Assessment in England. On the other hand, a defense of formative assessment is offered by some researchers who suggest that the threat stems from misinterpretation of the evolved form of formative assessment. In this paper, although I am alert to the rich potential of the evolved form of formative assessment, I suggest that the threat stems not from "misrepresentation" but that it exists in the original theoretical framework of Black and Wiliam and the early ARG definition of Assessment for Learning. I will illustrate that this type of formative assessment becomes "convergent assessment" (Torrance & Pryor, 1998) and identify the widespread notion of "closing the learning gap"(Sadler, 1989) as the mechanism of "convergent assessment". I also claim that formative assessment characterised by "convergent assessment" can lead to the practice of "criteria compliance" (Torrance, 2007). Together these claims point towards the theoretical problems of the evolved form of formative assessment and lead to a discussion of the main dilemmas for formative assessment: the kind of learning that is taking place, the effects of explicit learning objectives, the tension of accountability pressure and high-stakes summative assessments. Finally, by applying the suggestions above, this paper provides a critical analysis of recent assessment policy in Japan, emphasizing criterion-referenced approach in classroom assessment and proposes a pathway for developing formative assessment further.

For those receiving funding from the UK HEFCE-funded Open Educational Resource Programme (2009-2012), the sustainability of project outputs was one of a number of essential goals. Our approach for the hosting and distribution of health and life science open educational resources (OER) was based on the utilisation of the WordPress.org blogging platform and search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques to curate content and widen discovery. This paper outlines the approaches taken and tools used at the time, and reflects upon the effectiveness of web strategies several years post-funding. The paper concludes that using WordPress.org as a platform for sharing and curating OER, and the adoption of a pragmatic approach to SEO, offers cheap and simple ways for small-scale open education projects to be effective and sustainable.

The demand for less hostile and more humanitarian ways of caring for patients in health care institutions are becoming more widespread and accepted in Japan. In the city of Tsukuba, student groups are leading the way in developing ways in making hospital stays less stressful through arts programs. This paper is the result of direct participation, observation, and assistance by the hospitals, medical staff, and students who are organize hands-on projects and interactive art sessions designed to serve patients directly. The Arts in Hospital program is a useful tool in engaging community participation and communication among students and hospital staff. It provides a learning opportunity to students, and a creative outlet for patients on extended care. Active participation by students has a very positive impact on by giving them practical outlets to exercise their creativity and knowledge, while hospitals benefit through their service, which also cuts costs. Further research is needed to identify the direct benefit to patients, and the future prospects of arts-based hospital projects in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a compilation of personal reflections from 66 contributors on the impact of, and responses to, COVID-19 in accounting education in 45 different countries around the world. It reveals a commonality of issues, and a variability in responses, many positive outcomes, including the creation of opportunities to realign learning and teaching strategies away from the comfort of traditional formats, but many more that are negative, primarily relating to the impact on faculty and student health and well-being, and the accompanying stress. It identifies issues that need to be addressed in the recovery and redesign stages of the management of this crisis, and it sets a new research agenda for studies in accounting education.

The fragmentation of academic work and its uneven distribution among academic staff have produced particular challenges for new entrants to teaching in Higher Education, Early Career Teachers [ECTs]. In this paper, documentary analysis of the narratives of fourteen ECTs, who worked across six different continents, was undertaken. The findings highlight the diverse forms of precarity that ECTs face, which cut across migratory, identitarian, economic, and ideological dimensions. It discusses ECTs' reflections on their expectations of teaching and their adaptation to the demands of neoliberal Higher Education. Drawing from their narratives and Sevil Sümer's theories of differentiated academic citizenship, ECTs are recognised as 'precarious academic citizens'. This has important implications for revealing the unique circumstances of this group, thereby opening further questions as regards their mentoring and support to enable them to be situated more equally as citizens of the academy.

Aims This study aimed to compare the findings of the quality of nursing doctoral education survey across seven countries and discuss the strategic directions for improving quality. Background No comparative evaluation of global quality of nursing doctoral education has been reported to date despite the rapid increase in the number of nursing doctoral programmes. Design A descriptive, cross-country, comparative design was employed. Methods Data were collected from 2007-2010 from nursing schools in seven countries: Australia, Japan, Korea, South Africa, Thailand, UK and USA. An online questionnaire was used to evaluate quality of nursing doctoral education except for Japan, where a paper version was used. Korea and South Africa used e-mails quality of nursing doctoral education was evaluated using four domains: Programme, Faculty (referring to academic staff), Resource and Evaluation. Descriptive statistics, correlational and ordinal logistic regression were employed. Results A total of 105 deans/schools, 414 faculty and 1149 students/graduates participated. The perceptions of faculty and students/graduates about the quality of nursing doctoral education across the seven countries were mostly favourable on all four domains. The faculty domain score had the largest estimated coefficient for relative importance. As the overall quality level of doctoral education rose from fair to good, the resource domain showed an increased effect. Conclusions Both faculty and students/graduates groups rated the overall quality of nursing doctoral education favourably. The faculty domain had the greatest importance for quality, followed by the programme domain. However, the importance of the resource domain gained significance as the overall quality of nursing doctoral education increased, indicating the needs for more attention to resources if the quality of nursing doctoral education is to improve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many real matching markets are subject to distributional constraints. These constraints often take the form of restrictions on the numbers of agents on one side of the market matched to certain subsets on the other side. Real-life examples include restrictions on regions in medical matching, academic master's programs in graduate admission, and state-financed seats for college admission. Motivated by these markets, we study design of matching mechanisms under distributional constraints. We show that existing matching mechanisms suffer from inefficiency and instability, and propose a mechanism that is better in terms of efficiency, stability, and incentives while respecting the distributional constraints. (JEL C70, D61, D63) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dietitian has qualifications in nutrition and dietetics and applies the science of food and nutrition to improve the health of individuals, groups, and communities. The Registered Dietitian (RD) credential has gained recognition over the years for its expertise. The accreditation systems were developed and have been used to ensure quality of this profession. Accreditation systems set standards for academic and professional training in nutrition and dietetics and reflect current research-based information. The purpose of this paper is to review a few countries that have a RD accreditation system including China and several other countries, e.g. the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The aims are to introduce the newly established RD system in China and to compare the differences among the countries' systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the role of the real exchange rate in a structural vector autoregression framework for the United Kingdom, Euro area, Japan, and Canada vis-á-vis the United States. A new identification strategy is proposed building on sign restrictions. The results are compared to the benchmark conventional approach of Clarida and Gali (1994) based on long-run zero restrictions. Although the restrictions are derived from the same theoretical model, the results are strikingly different. In contrast to the benchmark model, an important role for nominal shocks in explaining real exchange rate fluctuations is found. Hence, the exchange rate can rather be considered as a source of shocks instead of a shock absorber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Despite all available evidence regarding increased morbidity and mortality among dialysis patients due to falls and their complications, and an increase in risk factors for falls, relatively little attention has been focused on evidence-based interventions that can reduce falls. We evaluated the effectiveness of fall prevention interventions among dialysis patients. Methods: We searched Ovid-Medline, Ovid-Embase, PubMed, Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Central) from inception to 19 July 2023 for studies that evaluated the effectiveness of fall prevention interventions among dialysis patients. The search, screening and extraction of data followed standardised processes and the methodological quality of studies was independently assessed by two reviewers. Data was analysed using a narrative synthesis approach. Results: Of the 18 studies that had full text review, five were eligible. Three studies were performed in the USA and one each in UK and Japan. Four studies were conducted in outpatient hemodialysis centres and one in a hospital-based nephrology unit. Reported sample sizes ranged from 51 to 96 participants per study with a follow-up period of 3 to 35 months. There was moderate-quality evidence that exercises reduce the rate of falls compared to usual care and low to moderate quality of evidence that multifactorial falls prevention interventions reduce the rate of falls. However, treatment effects could not be quantitatively estimated for all interventions due to substantial heterogeneity of included studies. Conclusions: This systematic review reflects that there is insufficient evidence regarding falls prevention strategies specific to dialysis patients. Available data based on low to moderate quality studies, suggest that among dialysis patients, exercises may reduce falls and the effectiveness of multifactorial interventions such as staff and patient education still need to be explored using high-quality prospective studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The value of a life is regularly monetised by government departments for informing resource allocation. Guidance documents indicate how economic evaluation should be conducted, often specifying precise values for different impacts. However, we find different values of life and health are used in analyses by departments within the same government despite commonality in desired outcomes. This creates potential inconsistencies in considering trade-offs within a broader public sector spending budget. We provide evidence to better inform the political process and to raise important issues in assessing the value of public expenditure across different sectors. Methods: Our document analysis identifies thresholds, explicitly or implicitly, as observed in government-related publications in the following public sectors: health, social care, transport, and environment. We include both demand-side and supply-side thresholds, understood as societies' and governments' willingness to pay for health gains. We look at key countries that introduced formal economic evaluation processes early on and have impacted other countries' policy development: Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. We also present a framework to consider how governments allocate resources across different public services. Results: Our analysis supports that identifying and describing the Value of a Life from disparate public sector activities in a manner that facilitates comparison is theoretically meaningful. The optimal allocation of resources across sectors depends on the relative position of benefits across different attributes, weighted by the social value that society puts on them. The value of a Quality-Adjusted Life Year is generally used as a demand-side threshold by Departments of transport and environment. It exceeds those used in health, often by a large enough proportion to be a multiple thereof. Decisions made across departments are generally based on an unspecified rationing rule. Conclusions: Comparing government expenditure across different public sector departments, in terms of the value of each department outcome, is not only possible but also desirable. It is essential for an optimal resource allocation to identify the relevant social attributes and to quantify the value of these attributes for each department. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Muscle weakness is associated with adverse clinical outcomes including disability and mortality. We report demographic, anthropometric and lifestyle correlates of grip strength in UK and Japanese population-based cohorts. Aim: To report prevalence of low grip strength according to 2019 European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2) and 2019 Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS 2019) thresholds and to consider correlates of grip strength in Eastern and Western populations. Methods: UK (1572 men; 1415 women) and Japanese (519 men; 1027 women) participants were recruited from two cohorts harmonised by consensus. Muscle strength was measured by grip strength dynamometry. Potential correlates of grip strength were examined using sex-stratified linear regression; univariate correlates (p < 0.05) were included in mutually adjusted models. Results: Mean (SD) age was 66.2 (2.8) and 65.8 (12.3) in UK and Japanese cohorts, respectively. Prevalence of low grip strength was higher in Japanese participants (EWGSOP2 5.4% versus 2.4%, AWGS 2019 9.0% versus 3.7%). In both cohorts and sexes, univariate correlates of lower grip strength were older age, shorter height, not consuming alcohol, leaving education earlier and greater comorbidity. Apart from older age and shorter height, the only factors related to lower grip strength in mutually adjusted analyses were greater comorbidity among UK participants (kg difference in grip strength (95%CI) per additional comorbidity − 0.60(− 0.98, − 0.21) among men and − 0.50(− 0.86, − 0.13) among women) and not consuming alcohol among Japanese men (− 1.33(− 2.51, − 0.15)). Discussion: Correlates of muscle strength were similar in both cohorts. Conclusions: A global approach to age-related muscle weakness prevention may be appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information communication and technology (ICT) has been used in various fields. The use of teleconference for teaching and learning activities is currently not a new topic in global world. In Indonesia, through IMHERE Program from Directorate of Higher Education, some universities have been connected with a network of teleconference as a medium of disseminate knowledge. However, when compare to university, the use of teleconference is not yet well-known in schools in Indonesia. This paper aims at presenting the experiences on the use of Teleconference as a medium of teaching secondary school pupils new information on different subjects they discovered in international learning environment. This activity is carried out by Indonesian students who study abroad e.g. students who study in Germany, Japan, Canada, Australia and USA. This paper will also analyse the feedback from the beneficiaries of the teleconference program, to gather opinion about the prospect, challenges in the administration, organisation, and the pedagogy implication of the use of information communication and technology in schools in Indonesia. The author will also give suggestions or recommendations on the best strategies of improving the use of information technology in schools. This is important to further promote and establish the e-Global-learning-system in Indonesia.

Through the lens of Institutional Entrepreneurship, this paper discusses how governments use the levers of power afforded through business and welfare systems to affect change in the organisational management of older workers. It does so using national stakeholder interviews in two contrasting economies: the United Kingdom and Japan. Both governments have taken a ‘light-touch’ approach to work and retirement. However, the highly institutionalised Japanese system affords the government greater leverage than that of the liberal UK system in changing employer practices at the workplace level. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose -- To provide an overview of the Japanese publishing industry and to compare it with the publishing industry in the United Kingdom to see whether similarities and differences are industry- or culture-specific. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper provides detailed descrip-tions of the activities of the three main players in the Japanese publishing industry (publishers/editors; distributors; and booksellers). This tripar-tite structure of the industry encourages divide-and-rule mechanisms also found in the Japanese advertising industry. At the same time, a comparison with the UK publishing industry reveals certain structural differences between it and the Japanese publishing industry. Findings -- Three developments that have affected trade relations in the UK publishing industry (retail chains, literary agents, and mergers and acquisitions) do not have such great impact in Japan. In Japan, whole-sale distributors are extremely powerful -- something not noted, but possibly overlooked, by Thompson for the UK publishing industry. Comparative material between Japan and the United Kingdom, as well as across industries within Japan, suggest certain cultural influences prevail in the organization of Japanese publishing. Research limitations/implications -- The Japanese publishing industry appears to operate under certain cultural constraints that inhibit cross-cultural comparison, while enabling cross-industry comparison within Japan. Why this is so needs further research. Can the parallels between advertising and publishing industries be extended to other forms of cultural production in Japan? In particular, the way in which money is circulated within an industry has an influential effect upon its structure. Practical implications -- A useful source of information for practitioners and academics interested in the functioning of a non-Western publishing industry. The paper also provides food for thought for those interested in trying to better the organization of publishing in Japan and/or the United Kingdom. Originality/value -- A hitherto undocumented comparative study in English of the Japanese publishing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper scrutinises organisational change in Japanese and UK universities which are engaged in entrepreneurial activities. The study focuses on recent changes in governance, management, leadership, and funding in these universities. The paper argues there are convergent trends between Japanese and UK universities in terms of increasing entrepreneurial activities, a review of institutional strategies, a review of the organisation, the application of market-oriented institutional policy, links with the industrial sector, the notion of a public financial crisis and changing external environment, strong leadership of the university President or Vice-Chancellor, and the notion of the accountability of the university to society as a whole. However, the application of particular institutional strategies, entrepreneurial culture, and the way in which an institution relates itself to the private sector significantly differs among institutions. The paper suggests that those differences are related to different institutional history and characteristics--including those between national and private universities in Japan, and old and new universities in the UK--as well as different government policies between Japan and the UK. The paper first proposes a theoretical model for the five types of entrepreneurial culture of the institutions. It then examines the model by using case studies: Nottingham Trent University (UK), University of Surrey (UK), University of Tokyo (Japan), and Waseda University (Japan).

Japanese firms have a firmly established reputation as influential foreign investors, originating from the surge of foreign direct investment into North America and Europe during the 1980s. This paper examines trends in Japanese corporate behaviour in the United Kingdom, a key investment destination for Japanese firms, over the period 1991 to 2010. Our ‘demographic’ analysis of Japanese firms' investments includes both investment and exit strategies. It is found that Japanese firms have reconfigured their UK presence in response to a rapidly changing market environment, with an enduring proclivity to cluster, notwithstanding government incentives intended to channel investment towards specific regions of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper discusses the noticeable nervousness of many US-based financial statement issuers in adopting IFRS. For contextual purposes, the paper provides an overview of the FASB/IFRS convergence so far and its probable future. A detailed review of convergence in accounting standards is explained through the respective standards for "Pensions and Other Post-Employment Benefits". The paper concludes by suggesting that, while one set of global steps is a noble goal, it might not achieve the desired goal of comparability.

The article reports on the results of a study conducted by Thomson Reuters concerning the impact of research papers from China. The results found out that the research paper outputs from the country went high from 20,000 in 1998 to almost 112,000 in 2008. It mentions that China is now set to overtake the U.S. in research output within the next decade and has overtaken Great Britain, Germany and Japan in 2006.

Abstract Schools of Nursing have witnessed an increase in the number of nursing students who struggle with learning difficulties. Support and accommodations are available in academic settings. Because nursing is a practice profession students also learn in clinical settings, which may not have similar support and accommodations. The compatibility of the clinical setting for the education of students with learning difficulties has not been studied. Staff nurses responsible for the clinical education of students and new nurses receive little preparation for their role as educator, and may not feel supported to meet the needs of those with learning difficulties. This is part one in a series of articles about the clinical education of nursing students with learning difficulties. This paper provides a framework and literature review for the development of a study (part 2) exploring the issue from the perspective of the nurse preceptors who educate students and new graduates with learning difficulties. Highlights • There is an increase in the number of students in school of nursing with learning difficulties. • The literature on nursing students with learning difficulties can be understood from the perspectives of nursing schools, faculty, and students. • Nurse educators have a role in preparing the learning environments for students with learning difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the various trajectories taken in the reception of Japanese creative practice in the United Kingdom -- focusing on a changing dynamic in the presentations of traditional forms at large-scale events in the late 20th and early 21st centuries and the contemporaneous consumption of innovative outputs of Japanese sartorial culture. An introductory section mobilises archival material to document early instances of cultural exchange between the two island nations. The main body of the discussion compares developing emphases on material and popular culture in a series of international festivals with the tactics employed by Japanese fashion designers entering a new market. The analysis highlights the manner in which the discipline has both distanced itself from, and re-inscribed, earlier constructions of Japanese identity -- using 'flagship' stores as 'advertising beacons' in the metropolis, opening 'guerilla' outlets and offering forms of artistic patronage. The conclusion integrates findings from a case-study conducted on a major retrospective exhibition to suggest that in a creative hierarchy the fashion designer now occupies the position of auteur and despite a century having elapsed since an initial cultural collaboration drew an audience of approximately 20% of the population, legacies of Orientalism continue to operate in the consumption of Japanese fashion in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Folk perceptions of language diversity often differ from the criteria laid out by linguists and have particular implications for applied/sociolinguists since the collective identification of language diversity largely determines the ways in which individuals regard the categorisation of their own (and others) linguistic uses as belonging to a specific social and/or regional variety. Folk perceptions can thus help define speech communities as well as explain sociolinguistic other phenomena. This paper provides a critical analysis of the existing folk linguistic research into language variation in a number of different contexts: the UK, the USA, France and Japan. It is hoped that the information gained will help build up a more detailed sociolinguistic picture of the complex and often contradictory nature of lay individuals’ attitudes towards linguistic variation. In the final sections of the paper the authors argue for a greater deal of recognition within modern linguistics of the value of examining folk perceptions of language diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates a threshold monetary policy rule model for the USA, UK and Japan to investigate if monetary policy changes depend on business cycle conditions, i.e. recessions and expansions of the economy. Then, the paper evaluates the policy implications of this monetary policy rule. Using a long span of data, the paper provides clear-cut evidence that, while during expansions the monetary authorities of the above countries follow the Taylor rule, during recessions they tend to abandon this policy rule and follow a passive monetary policy focused on interest rate smoothing over time. As shown in the paper, this passive monetary policy can not dampen the volatility effects of negative demand or supply macroeconomic shocks on the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines to what extent Japanese and British followers differ with respect to their leadership preferences and work goals, within the frameworks of Bass and Avolio's Full-Range Leadership Model and House's Path-Goal Leadership Theory. The study also identifies the link between these two concepts (leadership preferences and work goals) and compares the patterns of relationships between the Japanese and British samples. A survey was conducted by self-completion e-mail questionnaires collected from 266 Japanese and 125 British subjects. The results indicate that Japanese and British followers show significant differences with respect to their leadership preferences for both Bass and Avolio's eight leadership styles and House's four styles, as well as for eight work goals. Also, the research identifies that the relationships between followers' leadership preferences and their desired work goals significantly differ between the two countries. The study therefore offers guidance for leaders who deal with Japanese and British followers by showing which leadership styles can be effective for those followers who demonstrate particular work goals, and the patterns identified in this research provide insights for future investigations by suggesting some new relationships to be tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As of 2008, surrogacy is legal and openly practised in various places; Japan, however, has no regulations or laws regarding surrogacy. This paper reports the situation of surrogacy in Japan and in five other regions (the USA, the UK, Taiwan, Korea and France) to clarify the pros and cons of prohibiting surrogacy, along with the problems and issues relating to surrogacy compensation. Not only in a country such as France that completely prohibits surrogacy within the country, but also in a country such as the UK that allows non-commercial surrogacy, infertile couples travel overseas for the purpose of surrogacy. In addition, some couples might seek underground surrogacy if the government prohibits surrogacy. If an intended parent couple and a surrogate make an agreement among themselves and then a problem occurs, they cannot ask for support from professionals or bring a case to court, as can be observed in South Korea and Taiwan. We also conclude that there is little difference between commercial surrogacy and non-commercial surrogacy in the absence of a clear definition of ‘reasonable expenses.’ In the UK, the law does not allow surrogates to receive compensation. However, in reality, there may be little difference between the amounts paid to surrogates for profit in the US and those paid to surrogates for reasonable expenses in the UK. We conclude that the issue of surrogacy demands further discussion in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reflect on the evolution of corporate governance and the role of institutional investors in enhancing governance in Japan and the UK. Japan places emphasis on stakeholder capitalism, whereas the UK places emphasis on shareholder capitalism. Nonetheless, in both countries, institutional investors have exerted significant influence on the evolution of corporate governance. Institutional investors in the UK have more power over company management than their Japanese counterparts, although it is alleged that these powers are not exercised to their best potential in either country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vernacular timber-framed houses in Britain and Japan share an open-hall tradition where the frame is exposed. This paper classifies the types of trusses recorded in 40 halls in each of the two countries and focuses on the arrangement of timbers used as an alternative to arcade posts to support the superstructure. This comparative analysis shows that British aisled, box-frame and cruck-frame types (including their derivatives) could be used with one another in open and closed trusses within a single building yet do not usually coexist within a single truss. By contrast, Japanese framing systems are essentially all definable as aisled frames and their derivatives. Structural and aesthetic complexity is created by the superimposition of various techniques within one truss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In late 1903 Britain bought Chilean battleships, whereas Japan bought Argentine cruisers in the face of Russian counter-bidding. Previous scholarship has considered this arms trade as a case in which Britain showed its sympathy, or rather gave assistance, to Japan. However, this paper, based on multi-archival research in both Japan and Britain, argues that there was no sign of any such sympathy. The resale and transfer of the Argentine cruisers also shed light on the strategic views of the British government and the actual state of Anglo-Japanese relations just before the Russo-Japanese War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the highlights of the Sixth Mediterranean Combustion Symposium held in Corsica, France from June 7 to 11, 2009. The event was attended by scientists from 31 countries, including Japan and Great Britain. Activities during the symposium included nine invited lectures delivered by experts in the field, including P. Salatino and F. Winter. The sessions focused on such topics as combustion diagnostics and radiative transfer and waste combustion and gasification.

Abstract: While there are a few national schemes for accreditation/certification of toxicologic pathologists (e.g. in Japan and UK), a global recognition system for bench toxicologic pathologists is missing, as are universal standards defining their core competencies. This paper summarizes the basic means, how proficiency in toxicologic pathology is acquired, provides an overview over examinations of interest to toxicologic pathologists and emphasizes the value of practical experience in the field. The paper then discusses basic approaches to evaluate the proficiency of toxicologic pathologists and examines potential means to recognize qualified toxicologic pathologists. With progressive globalization it is important that the toxicologic pathology community intensifies the discussion regarding a global recognition of their discipline and seeks to agree on the way forward. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Manuscript Type: Conceptual Research Question/Issue: In this paper we address two research questions. First, to what extent has Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) developed unevenly across countries with different corporate governance systems and how might we explain this? Second, what consequences does its uneven development have for human resource management (HRM)? Research Findings/Insights: We map the nature and extent of SRI equities across five industrialized countries – Germany, Japan, the UK, the US and Australia. We find that differences between the institutional, corporate governance and cultural characteristics of national business systems explain variations in the size and significance of SRI across countries. We also find that SRI has an impact on HRM in institutional contexts such as where its influence is complemented by strong employee voice institutions. Theoretical/Academic Implications: The notion of “institutional complementarities,” within and across spheres of a corporate governance system is a useful theoretical lens for understanding the varied impact of SRI across different corporate governance systems. Further, future studies of HRM will need to consider the heterodox pressures produced by SRI that may influence its conduct. Practitioner/Policy Implications: Implications for SRI fund managers are considered, especially how they might use the notion of institutional complementarities to help in their investment decisions and in the impact they can exert. Specifically SRI funds are likely to be more effective where they can form alliances with other existing bodies or where they spur the development of such bodies. The implications for other actors in HRM and corporate governance are also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines alleged shortages and institutional weaknesses in the education, training and employment of Japan's IT labour force at the beginning of the 21st century. In particular, the paper focusses on recent initiatives taken by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to develop IT skill standards (ITSS) in order to promote external labour markets for IT professionals. Drawing on official sources, surveys and interviews with officials in Japan and the UK, the authors argue that similarities between skill standards in Japan and the UK are more apparent than real. The authors argue that the development, design and application of skill standards must be understood in their respective national institutional contexts.Asian Business & Management (2007) 6, 409–430. doi:10.1057/palgrave.abm.9200229 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we look at the history of social survey development in Japanese sociology. First, the history of social research in Japan before World War II is explored. Second, the introduction of survey research to Japan during the American occupation after World War II is examined, and third, the present state and roles of social survey research in Japanese sociology is discussed. Social research was introduced as an administrative tool for the government. Sociology and social research were developed under British empiricism and American pragmatism, but Japanese academia has been based on a metaphysical approach. Social research introduced as a practical tool long had difficulty in being accepted by Japanese academia. For this reason, most sociologists in universities did not use social survey research for practical purposes, but pursued qualitative methodologies for analyzing data to gain academic prestige even after Social Stratification and Mobility (SSM) and Sabro Yasuda's research projects spread social survey methods in the field of Japanese sociology. Such academics did not think that findings acquired through qualitative case studies had to be confirmed through quantitative data to serve a practical purpose, nor did they believe that quantitative data could be better understood when examined along side qualitative data. Social survey methods have been opposed by those who have favored case-study analysis methods in Japanese sociology. Needless to say, this opposition is fruitless. I propose that professional sociologists in Japanese universities should use social survey research for practical problems more frequently. This is the best way to establish sociology and social research as a science in Japanese society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes rape and sexual assault aftercare services in the UK and Japan. Tokyo-based activists and professionals from medicine, nursing, law and policing were interviewed by a researcher from a Manchester-based sexual assault referral centre, providing a picture of the societal forces behind the current state response to sexual violence in Japan. The Japanese forensic medical, policing and legal infrastructures were considered by most interviewees to be weak in dealing justly with the victims and perpetrators of sexual violence and aspects of Japanese social identity were seen to maintain that position. There was strong support of the need for official partnership ventures between police and health agencies that provide co-ordinated forensic medical examination and counselling services to victims, along the lines of the British model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores critical success conditions of collaborative planning projects in the area of urban transport, evaluating the impact of new collaborative methods, instruments and processes on project performance. Hypothesis building is based on a comparative, empirical research design, rather than on deductive theory construction. Potential critical success conditions are derived from literature. Based on five urban transport planning projects in Gothenburg (Sweden), London (United Kingdom), Milwaukee (United States), Tokyo (Japan) and Mexico City (Mexico), a rough set analysis of the five cases reveals validated success conditions, which can be used for formulating hypotheses for further research or for policy and process improvement. The results suggest that a dedicated management of the multi-actor network, a high diversity of actors, as well as an extensive use of knowledge integration methods in combination with a high network density are critical success conditions of these planning processes. Surprisingly, the extensive use of unilateral methods also showed to be an important success condition. The traditional role of the planner will have to be complemented with the expertise of network and methodology management. The authors conclude that rough set analysis can be a valuable addition to narrative, single-case analysis of collaborative urban transport planning processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much has been written on the nature of skills and the extent to which there is increased skills development or a deskilling of workers in modern workplaces. This paper broadens the debate and explores these issues in the novel context of UK- and Japanese- invested retailers' operations in China. Data derived from over two hundred interviews at twelve retail stores in six Chinese cities and questionnaires completed by almost eight hundred employees elicited contextualized accounts of interactive service workers' own perceptions of their training and skills development. It was found that these firms made a substantial contribution to skills development, fostered and enhanced both directly by company training and also through experiential workplace-based learning. It might be, however, that this constitutes an essential but 'one-off' increase in skills in transitional economies such as that of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the degree to which productivity adjusted deviations from PPP influence the U.S. inbound FDI. Our results show a significant negative relationship between productivity adjusted misalignments and the U.S. inbound FDI from Germany and the United Kingdom in the short-run, and a positive relationship in the long-run. Hence, indicating that a positive misalignment—undervalued U.S. dollar—leads to a decrease in the U.S. inbound FDI in the short-run and to an increase in the long-run. No significant evidence is found for Japan. Interestingly, unadjusted real exchange rate changes show no statistically significant relationship with respect to the U.S. inbound FDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the construction industry in four practices. The study uses construction statistical data and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers for the analyses. The study covers the construction industry and practices in the context of economic outlook, procurement trends, licensing, construction and housing data, etc. The analyses show the comparison of the practices in detail. It also presents the effects of macro and micro economic factors in overall construction industry performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a nine‐component analytical framework for developing, comparing, and evaluating road safety strategies. The nine components are: (1) vision; (2) objectives; (3) targets; (4) action plan; (5) evaluation and monitoring; (6) research and development; (7) quantitative modelling; (8) institutional framework; and (9) funding. While the first four components are essential for the formulation of a road safety strategy, the remaining components are key to its successful implementation. To demonstrate the usefulness of this comparative framework, we examine the road safety strategies of six selected administrations: Australia, California, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, and Sweden. In these case studies, we extract and highlight good practices in the formulation and implementation of their road safety strategies. The proposed framework also provides a systematic approach for assessing road safety strategies in other administrations. The evaluation of the six case studies forms a benchmarking platform for the planning, formulation, and implementation of good practices for road safety strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the transfer and operation of the UK Groundwork (GW) model in Japan and sets out the development of GW in the UK since the early 1980s. The study discusses two case study areas in Japan and explores the wider cultural and political issues that face the transfer of environmental action programmes. It was found that Japanese groups have been developing their own approaches using the Groundwork label, yet for GW ideas and practices to become understood and accepted in Japan, as has been the case in the UK, a longer timeframe and better support is needed. It is concluded that while there may be benefit in using the GW label there are also significant barriers to the successful adoption of Groundwork in Japan, including a different socio-political context for the spread of community-based schemes. There is also an opportunity, however, through GW and similar transformative planning efforts to help strengthen civil society and partnership working in Japan. While some of the difficulties have been acknowledged in Japan it is argued that national governmental support will be necessary for GW Japan to emulate its UK parent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relative performance of electricity distribution systems in the UK and Japan between 1985 and 1998 using cost-based benchmarking with data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) methods. The results suggest that the productivity gain in the UK electricity distribution has been larger than in the Japanese sector. In particular, productivity growth accelerated during the last years when the UK utilities were operating under tightened revenue caps. It also suggests that efficiency scores are higher for UK utilities. The findings also highlight the advantages of using multiple techniques in comparative analysis and in incentive regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the existing studies on the international capital market are based on a segmented market approach. This approach treats the different national capital markets as separated entities, hardly related to each other. For this reason (under the assumption of market segmentation), comparable capital assets may differ in their return on different national markets. Although market segmentation enjoys a surprisingly large following, it is not the only possible interpretation of the international capital market. The alternative hypothesis, i.e., that prices of capital assets in the international capital market behave as if there is one multinational perfect capital market, should be considered. The one market hypothesis has the advantage of being consistent with much of the accepted economic theory. Also the one market hypothesis is unambiguous where market segmentation can stand for any number of specific imperfect market formations. Market segmentation is widely accepted as the only possible structure of the international capital market. Different currency areas, separated political organizations and trade barriers have been given as a priori evidence for the segmentation of the international capital market. This, however, is not necessarily the case. An examination of the behavior of capital asset prices reveals that the price behavior is consistent with the one market hypothesis. It should be noted, however, that a certain body of data can be consistent with both the one market hypothesis and any one of several specific forms of market segmentation. But as the main theme of this study is to show the validity of the one market approach to the multinational equity market, it is sufficient to show that one cannot reject the one market hypothesis with regard to this market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several recent papers have compared the measurement of migration in different countries, and some have compared migration patterns to the extent that these can be compared cross-nationally. In this paper we measure and comment on differences in the behaviour of migrants in two systems, Japan and Britain. In both countries the focus of attention is on interregional migration. Migration behaviour is measured in terms of elasticities of migration responses to various aspects of destination attractiveness, namely distance from the origin, population size and relative accessibility to other destinations. Origin-specific migration destination choice models are calibrated to obtain this information. The results reveal interesting differences in the factors underlying destination attractiveness in the two countries which have important implications both for the way in which migration is modelled, and for the impacts of migration on the urban systems in both countries. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses approaches to global education in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan. The paper begins by looking at movements that preceded global education, such as education for international understanding, development education, multicultural education, and peace education. The rise and fall of these earlier movements is analysed in terms of the interplay between the international and domestic politics of particular countries. To identify the world views which underpinned these pedagogic forms, the author discusses various discontinuities between the period up to the 1990s and thereafter. It is suggested that fresh forms of global education are emerging in — and because of — the changed world of the late 20th and early 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the example of Japan's factory-based housing industry where firms supply customized homes which are preassembled from standardized components or modular systems, it is argued that 'mass customization' can be supported by several generic supply-chain models. The paper discusses these models and provides a case study of a Japanese housing supplier. Conclusions are then drawn on the implications of these lessons for the UK's speculative housebuilding industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the relational nature of globalization between Japan and Britain, and addresses Japanization in this context. Japanization, defined as Japanese influence on UK management styles (particularly in the area of production management), will be examined through three case studieswhich illustrate the context of Japanization in terms of the convergence of British management towards human resource management (HRM). Hallmarks of Japanization are methods and techniques of production management which overlap with those of HRM. It is also significant that the diffusion of Japanization and HRM in Britain took place concurrently, leading to the conclusion that Japanization and HRM represent a synergistic relationship of managerial strategy, on the one hand, offering suitable conditions for Japanization, and, on the other, the enhanced diffusion of HRM in Britain through Japanization. This paper also examines how British academics have reflected Japanization in their research. In this way, it is also possible to pinpoint the influence of Japanese techniques and methods effective for production management. Although Japanization and HRM overlap both in content and period of diffusion, in the long term Japanization may be considered as an integral part of the general diffusion of HRM in Britain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the origins and potential effects of the liberalising reform agenda in Japanese secondary education in the light of experiences in the UK with policies such as local school management and school choice. The analysis is based on extensive interviews conducted with Japanese policy-makers, school heads and Prefectural administrators in 1997 in Tokyo and Osaka. The research was part of a joint Anglo-Japanese study, supported by the Japanese Embassy in London, and the analysis here highlights issues of national perspective which emerged in the collaboration between English and Japanese researchers observing reforms in each other's countries. The paper argues that the reform agenda in Japan has two strands. These involve both a necessary diversification of curriculum and pedagogic practices, and an administrative shift towards deregulation and school competition which may undermine some of the traditional strengths of Japanese secondary schooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]