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In nonclinical safety studies for new drug development, healthy animals have been commonly used. However, in some cases, the use of animal models of human disease is considered to be more favorable in evaluating risks in patients. To elucidate the current status of the use of animal models for nonclinical safety assessment, an internal questionnaire from the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and surveys (questionnaire period: August 27 to September 30, 2015) of both common technical documents and review reports of approved drugs (approval period: May 1999 to May 2017) disclosed by the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency were conducted. Although there were some concerns and limitations raised, the survey results revealed that animal models have been used in nonclinical safety assessment on a case-by-case basis and that nonclinical safety studies using animal models were included in the data packages of several approved drugs in Japan. The survey results also revealed that nonclinical safety studies using animal models have become more frequent in the past few years. In almost all cases, useful information, such as signs of toxicity under disease conditions and mechanisms of toxic change, was obtained from the results of nonclinical studies using animal models. Note: This is an opinion article submitted to the Toxicologic Pathology Forum. It represents the views of the author(s). It does not constitute an official position of the Society of Toxicologic Pathology, British Society of Toxicological Pathology, or European Society of Toxicologic Pathology, and the views expressed might not reflect the best practices recommended by these Societies. This article should not be construed to represent the policies, positions, or opinions of their respective organizations, employers, or regulatory agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While previous studies found that origami, when used for cognitive training and education, can improve spatial ability, the underlying mechanisms of this change, presumably associated with the origami folding process, remain unclear. In the present study, we focused on origami imagery in which participants imagined the process of folding paper to create a work of art; and we examined the cognitive factors involved in the imagery process and their association with mental transformations and the extent to which visual imagery was vivid. We identified four specific relevant cognitive factors in origami imagery: (a) controllability of origami transformations, (b) visual imagery of shapes, (c) hand sensations, and (d) visual imagery of colors. We associated the first two of these with non-rigid transformations: the controllability of origami transformations and the visual imagery of shapes. Moreover, vividness of visual imagery was related to all four cognitive factors. We propose this cognitive model of origami as one that considers the key relationships between origami imagery, mental transformations, and vividness of visual imagery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a super-aging society, health promotion activities in local Japanese communities are increasingly essential. Developing the health-promotion programs must include the perspective of older people residing in these communities and what they believe to be their regional strengths. This study aimed to clarify the elements of regional strengths perceived by older people living in local Japanese communities from the literature review. Using the internet edition of the Japan Medical Abstracts Society (Ichu-shi), the authors examined papers on Japanese regional residents using relevant keywords. Of 342 considered papers, 14 papers were extracted in this study. As a result, the contents related to the regional strengths perceived by the older people living in the local Japanese community were extracted, classified based on the similarity of the meanings and contents, and then summarized into the elements of the strengths. As the regional strengths, three categories were cited for individual elements: "Actions or behaviors underpinned by experience," "Continuing to live with positivity and vigor," and "Extensive support for the subject and their family." Three categories were cited for environmental elements: "A comfortable environment," "Maintaining intimate and friendly interpersonal relations," and "Support that meets the regional characteristics." Along with individual and environmental elements, support from experts in the region was cited. Hence, it was concluded that the active participation of experts is essential for promoting activities in local communities, and that deepening relationship with older people has the potential to improve their quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the concept of life-environmentalism (seikatsu kankyō shugi), which emerged in the 1980s as a shared research framework among Japanese social scientists studying the adverse effects of modern industrialization of everyday life in rural communities. Despite its recognition in Japan, the life-environmentalist approach remains largely unknown to Anglophone literature. While the recently published book, Everyday Life-Environmentalism, provides an introductory English-language text, it lacks thorough theoretical articulation of the approach in relation to contemporary Anglophone approaches. This paper centers on actor-network theory, a widely circulated approach within post-human and more-than-human geographies, as a comparative frame of reference to elucidate key characteristics of life-environmentalism. Through a comparative examination of the applications of these approaches to a local case study, we suggest that life-environmentalism offers valuable insights when analyzing socioenvironmental controversies and community-level responses, particularly in contexts where a long-standing social community is central to the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted labor markets around the world. Workers and corporations scrambled to adjust their workstyles to a new normal, by avoiding the commute and working remotely from their homes or elsewhere. Japan is a country that stood out for its inability to adjust to the remote work imperative. Comparative statistics show that Japan reported the lowest number of people engaged in remote work among the OECD countries, as well as the lowest percentage of corporations that offered remote work policies. In this article, I investigate why telework in Japan is difficult. The lack of telework in Japan may seem paradoxical, given the country's reputation for being technologically advanced. I argue that it is not the technological infrastructure that is lacking in the Japanese workplace, but distinct features of work embedded in Japanese culture and its collectivist roots that prevent the effective implementation of telework. I rely on recently published data from various sources, and apply key sociological theories such as implicit contracts, gift exchange, dramaturgy, and impression management to substantiate my main arguments. The paper concludes by drawing on implications for the future of work in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Palliative care is insufficiently integrated in the continuum of care for older people. It is unclear to what extent healthcare policy for older people includes elements of palliative care and thus supports its integration. Aim: (1) To develop a reference framework for identifying palliative care contents in policy documents; (2) to determine inclusion of palliative care in public policy documents on healthcare for older people in 13 rapidly ageing countries. Design: Directed documentary analysis of public policy documents (legislation, policies/strategies, guidelines, white papers) on healthcare for older people. Using existing literature, we developed a reference framework and data extraction form assessing 10 criteria of palliative care inclusion. Country experts identified documents and extracted data. Setting: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, England, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain. Results: Of 139 identified documents, 50 met inclusion criteria. The most frequently addressed palliative care elements were coordination and continuity of care (12 countries), communication and care planning, care for family, and ethical and legal aspects (11 countries). Documents in 10 countries explicitly mentioned palliative care, nine addressed symptom management, eight mentioned end-of-life care, and five referred to existing palliative care strategies (out of nine that had them). Conclusions: Health care policies for older people need revising to include reference to end-of-life care and dying and ensure linkage to existing national or regional palliative care strategies. The strong policy focus on care coordination and continuity in policies for older people is an opportunity window for palliative care advocacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sports mega-events, like the Rugby World Cup, are often considered as a major platform for the celebration and reinforcement of nationalism. However, there is an emerging strand of research which contends that the host nations are increasingly presenting themselves with diverse, inclusive and cosmopolitan characteristics and, in turn, forms of nationalism have undergone some noticeable changes in more recent times. In this paper, we pursue an argument that Japan as the host of the 2019 Rugby World Cup projected the nation with a cosmopolitan outlook ultimately to sustain or even strengthen national interest and identity through the process of 'cosmopolitan nationalism'. Methodologically, the research deployed critical discourse analysis to examine media representations of Japan as the host nation in general, and its national team in particular, within one of the leading Japanese newspapers as well as a range of other publicly available resources and materials in relation to the Rugby World Cup. In result, the study reveals the ways in which the discourse of 'One Team', embracement of foreignness and incidents of international exchanges during the event were mobilised to generate 'thin' cosmopolitan moments and, at the same time, were incorporated into the narratives of Japan's success on the world stage through conditional acceptance of foreignness and diversity. Consequently, this paper offers both a theoretical underpinning for and empirical evidence of the emerging linkage between sports mega-events and cosmopolitan nationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the COVID-19, it is very significant to explore the dynamic fluctuation of China's export growth to the international market and examine the causes of this fluctuation in a multi-dimensional way. The dynamic fluctuation level is measured in the short and medium-long cycle respectively based on monthly data. Factor decomposition of the dynamic fluctuation is made from the growth effect, the structure effect and the competitiveness effect by the improved CMS model, which results show that the growth effect has decreased first and then increased; The structure effects include market structure effects and commodity structure effects, and the former effect basically fluctuates around the X-axis while there is a negative commodity structure effect; There are different specific competitiveness effects on 21 categories of goods. China should rely on the RCEP agreement to strengthen and stabilize trade cooperation other countries, and strengthen its core position in the industry chain and value chain in the Asia Pacific region. The current paper creatively introduce the trade expansion margin including the ternary margin and product structure into the CMS model, explaining the internal relationship between the trade expansion margin analysis at the product- market level and the CMS analysis at the overall level; meanwhile, this paper analyses the dynamic fluctuation structure of China's export growth to Japan and South Korea through a CMS factor decomposition from the perspective of technological structure and factor ladder, and studies the source and dynamic distribution evolution of this growth pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To investigate the selection bias of an Internet panel survey organized by a commercial company. Methods. A descriptive study was conducted. The authors compared the characteristics of the Internet panel survey with a national paper-based survey and with national governmental statistics in Japan. Results. The participants in the Internet panel survey were composed of more women, were older, and resided in large cities. Regardless of age and sex, the prevalence of highly educated people in the Internet panel survey was higher than in the paper-based survey and the national statistics. In men, the prevalence of heavy drinkers among the 30- to 49-year-old population and of habitual smokers among the 20- to 49-year-old population in the Internet panel survey was lower than what was found in the national statistics. Conclusions. The estimated characteristics of commercial Internet panel surveys were quite different from the national statistical data. In a commercial Internet panel survey, selection bias should not be underestimated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background. The significance of mutual-help in communities for disaster management is a fundamental important concept. However, the current societal state does not reflect this lesson. S&G (Simulation and Gaming) has the potential to overcome the challenges faced in promoting community-based disaster management. No scientific research is currently present that reviews their achievements in Japan. Aim. This paper analyzes the current achievements of S&G in enhancing community resilience against large-scale earthquakes in Japan. Method. The paper clarifies the theoretical advantages of S&G in enhancing community resilience in coping and adaptive capacity plus proposes a conceptual contribution framework of S&G in improving community resilience. Based on this framework, the paper analyzes some major games that tackle community resilience against earthquakes in Japan. Results. The paper demonstrates the achievements through the S&G spectrum that stresses the disastrous experience with specific resilience views on one side, while decision making for critical reflection from other players with more comprehensive resilience views on the other side. Conclusion. The paper showcases the current S&G achievements in enhancing community resilience against large-scale earthquakes in Japan using the proposed framework, which can be utilized by other disaster-prone countries to develop and evaluate applications of S&G for increasing community resilience against earthquakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: During Japan's initial pandemic prevention and control period, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan (MEXT) issued several notifications to ensure students' continuous learning according to the "leave no one behind" philosophy. This study focused on the comprehensive measures comprising top-level arrangements to implement the "suspending classes without stopping learning" initiative. Design/Approach/Methods: The study reviewed MEXT's guide on ensuring learning for Japanese primary and secondary school students during the pandemic. Findings: The pandemic has accelerated the development of the information and communications technology educational environment and the implementation of the Global and Innovation Gateway for All (GIGA) schools initiative. These developments laid the foundation for the evolution of diverse pedagogical models and feasible methods for promoting equity. The home schooling experience during the pandemic provided a natural base for students to practice and foster survivability. Originality/Value: This paper provides scholars with an understanding of the opportunities and challenges encountered in educational innovation in Japan. It provides insights into the future direction of pedagogical development, capability development, and effective educational arrangements for extraordinary circumstances to facilitate educational development from a broader perspective, particularly under the new normal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the impact of varying the input seismic excitation directions on the system fragility of a geometrically complex highway bridge structure. The traditional approach of fragility derivation in the principal loading directions (longitudinal and transverse) results in an under/overestimation of the system fragility. To reduce such errors, the contribution of all major vulnerable components to the system fragility in the critical loading direction must be considered. For this purpose, a series of nonlinear time-history analyses were conducted for a testbed configured geometrically curved highway bridge structure in Japan. Shear strain, ductility, and distortion strain were considered as engineering demand parameters for bearings, concrete pier, and steel piers, respectively. The demand dependency among the components was considered using the correlation coefficient matrix for fragility estimation. Subsequently, fragility functions with respect to the input loading directions were generated for the bridge components and system to quantify their sensitivity to seismic input excitation directions. The results show that the component fragility is significantly influenced by the input excitation direction. A relative comparison of the system fragility for different loading directions indicated that a 150° loading direction yielded a higher fragility demand. The findings suggest that the critical fragility assessment should not always be decided only along the principal loading directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To what degree are historical animosities regarding another country relevant for foreign policy in the face of changes in the security environment? This paper seeks to answer this question in the context of Korea–Japan relations. While pundits have pointed to the Korean public's negative views of Japan—rooted in the colonial experience—as the explanation for the lack of cooperation between Japan and Korea in the security field, this paper argues changes in the level of common external threat can shift the public's priorities from perceived historical injustices toward the needs of security. Surveys from the period when the security environment was shifting markedly—the final years of the Cold War (1986–1990)—reveal that public opinion regarding Japan relative to other powers in the region began to deteriorate only after the security environment improved, pointing to a limit to the extent that "history" trumps security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores domestic dynamics in the complex making of institutional psychiatry in Japan in c. 1920–45. It mainly examines gender issues between the relatively long-lasting system of the family care of mentally ill members and the use of freshly introduced systems of psychiatric hospitals. I shall look at the record of Ohji Brain Hospital (1901–45) in Tokyo, which has several thousands of case histories mainly in Tokyo c. 1920–45. From the analysis of the cases of male and female patients, as well as the complex situations of their households and kin groups, I shall look at the gender issues in the making of the psychiatric hospital regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population aging has led to the establishment of Healthcare Real Estate Investment Trusts (HC-REITs) to boost the supply of nursing homes, but these initiatives have met with contrasting success in different countries. This paper bridges two strands of research on financialization, social welfare and the built environment, to explain the uneven geography of HC-REIT development in France, the UK and Japan. It argues that nation-specific processes of nursing home securitization are shaped by the interrelationships between three crucial factors: (i) the regime of retirement income, (ii) public policies dedicated to long-term institutional care and (iii) the power relations between the REITs and care providers themselves. Drawing on discussions with experts in these sectors, the paper demonstrates that liberal welfare states such as the UK have an especially attractive profile for Healthcare REIT investors due to the advanced state of financialized pension reforms, significant state disengagement in the provision of long-term care and REIT-friendly regulations that facilitate investment operations and leases. On the one hand, these tendencies are driving financial investors to satisfy a growing demand for retirement savings in niche markets such as Healthcare REITs. On the other hand, value extraction is being increasingly sought through the capture of care-dependent residents' home equity. By linking social benefit provisioning to later life housing accommodation, this article casts important light on current debates on the political economy of real estate financialization, while also emphasizing the need for continued state support for long-term institutional care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has indicated how diverse books contribute to a more culturally responsive pedagogy, allowing children to identify themselves in the stories they read and gain an appreciation for others whose lives are different from theirs. Moreover, a sensitive discussion of and critical responses to diverse picturebooks is found to positively influence a child's social and emotional learning competecies, apart from increasing a child's cultural knowledge and serving as a catalyst for social justice. This paper is meant to broaden early childhood educators' repertoire of picturebooks that can be used in the classroom to also include international titles (translated into English from their original languages) and multicultural titles to facilitate affective engagement with these narratives and introduce social and emotional learning skills (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management and responsible decision-making). This paper provides a list of diverse books (from the Netherlands, Japan, Lithuania, Spain, Germany, France, Argentina – among others) for students in early childhood (from preschool to third grade) thematically organized across the five social and emotional learning competencies. Strategies such as book-bonding and literacy bags for family engagement will be shared while using the framework of culturally responsive teaching in an early childhood setting. Recommendations for how family members can be more involved are included, along with critical literacy strategies that include conversations, multiple perspectives and the sharing of authentic experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between October 2013 and October 2017 in Hokkaido, northern Japan, this paper explores the trajectories of individuals engaging in hip hop music. Participant observation and narratives indicate that the majority of individuals work as regular members of society (shakaijin) and only pursue hip hop in their free time. The paper highlights the intricate entanglement of individuals in subordination to mainstream values despite their references to elements of resistance. I contend that in contrast to previous generations of hip hoppers who chose to lead lives of open resistance to mainstream values, contemporary youth who largely belong to the "Generation Resignation" (satori sedai) prefer to engage in practices of resistance that may not be evident rather than overt contestation of societal conventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrialized countries have increasingly used skill-based selective migration policies to reduce labor and skill shortages. But are these policies effective? This paper uses Japan and the United Kingdom to illustrate how immigration policy and employment, training and labor practices influence labor and skill supply. Until recently, these two countries had different migration policies and labor practices. Yet data shows similar patterns of labor and skill shortage profiles in both countries. This paper draws on empirical research to argue that such outcomes suggest that immigration policies will not alleviate labor and skill shortages unless accompanied by the transformation of employment and training practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the contemporary background of international and national commitments to citizenship education for social justice, this paper examines and compares the subject, aim and extent of social justice in citizenship education behind official rhetorics in Japan and China. It develops a three-dimensional framework of social justice to analyse, through mixed methods of text analysis, a set of selected authoritative documents, including official policies, national curriculum guidelines and government-authorized textbooks. The results reveal discursive divergences and convergences between the Japanese and Chinese cases. Social justice in the Japanese discourse tends to be constructed as recognitive injustice eliminable through identical treatment towards one another by individuals. By contrast, social justice in the Chinese discourse tends to be constructed as distributive justice achievable through differential treatment by the party-state. Common to the two cases is that both pay scant attention to collective actions for and the global bearing of social justice. The paper argues that the two cases similarly stop short of promoting comprehensive, transformative and global social justice education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the role of mandatory interim financial reporting in financial analysts' annual earnings forecast errors. We provide large-scale evidence from 49 countries that a mandatory quarterly (as compared to semi-annual) reporting regime is associated with lower analysts' annual earnings forecast errors. This conjecture is further supported when we exploit an exogeneous change in the mandatory frequency regime from a semi-annual to a quarterly reporting mandate in Japan. Consistent with an improvement in the information environment, our findings are more pronounced for firms and analysts subject to higher information acquisition costs and in countries where the institutional setting is less able to meet analysts' information needs. We corroborate this conjecture by documenting that more frequent mandatory reporting decreases analysts' forecast dispersion and improves the profitability of their stock recommendations. Overall, our findings extend the research on the role of the institutional setting in analysts' output, suggesting that the mandate of more frequent reporting improves analysts' forecasting process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the view that Lesson Study has the potential to make a significant contribution to future developments in primary physical education. To set the paper in context, we explore the concerns that have long been voiced about primary physical education, particularly the nature of the professional development experiences of generalist primary class teachers. Contemporary approaches to teachers' professional development, one of which is Lesson Study, are presented as having some potential in addressing these concerns as they are focused on teacher collaboration, autonomy and agency. Building on this background, the paper reports on a longitudinal physical education Lesson Study investigation that took place in one primary school in Japan: a country where Lesson Study has been a key feature of teachers' professional development for more than a century. Working with 30 teachers over a three-year period, the findings highlight how the long-term, collaborative and situated nature of the Lesson Study experience helped create a positive context for the teachers' professional development in physical education. Specifically, the findings reveal that the shared planning, observation and reflective experiences over time helped the teachers develop a more positive and detailed view of physical education. The paper concludes by proposing that Lesson Study, as a long-term, collaborative and situated endeavour, has the potential to foster productive developments in generalist teachers' enactment of the primary physical education curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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There is a predominance for cute characters among Japanese virtual YouTubers (VTubers). Men who publicly use feminine avatars to conduct online entertainment are called babiniku in Japan. This research paper investigates whether embodying cute avatars impacts males' perception of self. Examining the process leading some online performers to turn into outwardly feminine characters, we address the reasons why babiniku reproduce gender stereotypes. Our presumption is that such role play is part of a strategy with purposes yet to be deciphered. We deployed quantitative and qualitative methods, such as survey and semi structured interviews, to collect first-hand testimonies from 24 babiniku participants. This article contributes to an existing literature about digital gender swapping with avatars and Japanese cross-dressing from an anthropological perspective. As stressed by the babiniku who took part in this research, digital cross-dressing enables them to create a world where they can indulge in fancy and fantasy. All together with their fans, babiniku build a notion of femininity that allows users to act and live outside of societal pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a study on the responses analyses of a seismically isolated multi-span highway bridge recorded during the 2011 Great East Japan (Tohoku) earthquake and assessment of isolation bearing condition based on the responses. During the earthquake, lateral pounding and locking between the side-stoppers and the upper steel plate of the isolation bearings were observed of several piers. Finite element model was employed to analyze the problem and scenarios of locked bearing on the piers were simulated. The study also presents a wavelet-based technique to detect the presence and location of locked bearing. Instantaneous frequency of continuous wavelet transform of girder and piers accelerations were employed to evaluate isolation bearing condition by identifying the occurrence of high-frequency filtering effect. Afterwards, bearing condition was characterized via statistical clustering technique. Accuracy and efficacy of the technique were verified in simulations using three-dimensional finite element model of the bridge. Results of simulations demonstrate that wavelet-based features can effectively characterize isolation bearings condition directly from seismic responses of girder and piers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychotherapy had developed into a dynamic and diverse field in pre-war Japan. Apart from thousands of spiritually oriented lay psychotherapists, there were a few quasi-professional practitioners who insisted on a rational approach and experimented with a variety of psychotherapeutic methods. Among them was Kokyō Nakamura, whose quest for a viable psychotherapeutic method is intriguing and illuminating. This paper examines the evolution of Nakamura's theories and practices by dividing it into three stages: hypnotic suggestion, psychoanalysis, and Morita therapy. His pragmatic and adaptive approach to psychotherapy provides not only an interesting example for studying the spread of psychotherapy across nations and cultures, but also valuable clues to understanding its nature as a body of knowledge and therapeutic method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Hikikomori is a Japanese term etymologically derived from ' hiku ' (i.e. ' to pull back ') and ' komoru ' (i.e. ' seclude oneself '), which identifies those subjects who deliberately withdraw themselves by social life, remaining confined into their own home/room. The phenomenon is widely diffused in Japan, even though it is currently spread outside the Japanese culture. However, a universally shared and cross-cultural adaptation of Hikikomori definition, phenomenological and psychopathological characterization is still missing. Methodology: An expert-guided opinion paper was here provided to clinical characterize the Hikikomori-like social withdrawal in the Italian context, by considering the transformation from a family-based society to a 'fluid' digital-structured culture, also discussing the concept of modern-type depression. This was provided deepening the principal current studies available in literature and giving an interpretation based on clinical experience in the Italian society. The work was supervised through a consensus by the most international expert of Japanese Hikikomori syndrome. Results: Current individual, family and social trajectories may potentially act as a mediator in favouring the occurrence of Hikikomori-like social withdrawal also in western countries, including Italy. Despite the differences between Japanese and Italian society and culture, the recent shaping of family structure and intra-familial dynamics, typical of the current post-modern society, may potentially influence the emergence of psychopathologies not typical of Italian culture. Unemployment and 'Not in Employment Education or Training' (NEET) conditions may represent another potential risk factor for economical/social marginalization of youngsters, together with the recent dramatic emergence of web-based psychopathologies. Conclusion: A diagnostic culturally-adapted flow-chart is proposed for clinical characterizing Hikikomori in Italian context, which may help in proposing preventive strategies, ensuring early identification and prompt therapeutic interventions, particularly among youngsters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study examines the implementation and short-term effects of a Learning Partner Model (LPM)-based educational program on cancer prevention and control information for community health volunteers in Japan. Methods: The program was undertaken by 3 local governments in collaboration with a government initiative and offered a 90-min group workshop to community health volunteers. Community health volunteers (primary participants) recruited in turn friend or family members (secondary participants) with whom they were prepared to share the content of the workshop with the help of printed materials received in the workshop. We conducted self-administered paper and pencil questionnaire surveys before, immediately after, and 3 months after the workshop. The t-test, Fisher's exact test, paired t-test, and McNemar test were used to compare the 2 groups' demographic characteristics and healthy habits at pretest. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare cancer prevention knowledge between groups and over time. Results: Of 142 participants, 107 pairs of learning partners (primary and corresponding secondary participant) completed all questionnaires. All primary participants and 37.4% of the secondary participants were women, and 57.9% of the learning partners were spouses. The results showed significantly higher correct answers on the cancer-prevention knowledge questions in the post-workshop and follow-up surveys compared to the pre-workshop survey (P <.001). The increase in knowledge was observed in all learning-partner groups in all 3 sites. Conclusion: The study demonstrates a promising strategy that can be adapted to the health needs of the community beyond cancer prevention and control, building on the efforts of local governments and government health initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy savings among households is an important energy challenge in Japan. After the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011, electricity shortages became a worry because nuclear power plants ceased operations. The conditions that households require to save electricity are analyzed in the paper by a conjoint analysis. An annual electricity bill, CO2 emissions, a stable electricity supply, and energy sources that generate electricity are considered. The role of energy sources, especially renewable energy, in energy savings is focused. When renewable energy such as solar and wind power is used, households who prefer it might use less electricity as well. A random parameter logit model is used for estimation. The promotion of renewable energy and energy savings should be encouraged in Japan's official energy policy. If electricity generated by renewable energy is provided, households that prefer renewable energy choose such an electricity and will reduce their electricity usage. As a result, the promotion of renewable energy and energy savings could be addressed simultaneously. The estimation results indicated that households would save more electricity if an annual electricity bill is reduced. In addition, they also would save more electricity if CO2 emissions are reduced and if a stable electricity supply is secured. If nuclear power is used for electricity generation, they do not use less electricity. If renewable energy is provided, they tend to use less electricity. Thus, renewable energy provides incentives for households to reduce electricity usage. It is possible to promote energy savings by utilizing consumers' interest in renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Hikikomori – an almost complete withdrawal from social interaction first seen in Japan – is becoming an emerging psychological syndrome worldwide. The mental health community in Japan has focused on hikikomori since the 1990s. Hikikomori was initially considered a culture-bound trait, unique to Japan; however, it has become an international concern, and cases have been reported even outside of Japan. While home visiting support for people with hikikomori has gained popularity, an effective solution remains elusive. This paper describes the process involved in effective home visiting support provided by experienced workers to help people with hikikomori. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 home-visiting support workers in Japan. Collected data were analysed using a constant comparative method based on Grounded Theory. Results: 'Supporting them in finding their own way to participate in society' was identified as the core category. This core category was substantiated by following three interrelated stages: preparing the involved surroundings for reaching out to a person, maintaining constant communication and expanding the range of activities and relationships. The process encouraged people with hikikomori to enhance their social connections and improved their motivation for social participation. People with hikikomori experiencing despair and isolation began to find pleasure in social participation through the three stages of support provided by home-visiting workers. Conclusion: Our study suggests that Home visiting support for people with hikikomori can be enhanced by these three interrelated methods which can help individuals integrate into society and connect with others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) has been developed and implemented within cancer center hospitals nationwide in Japan. To ensure that high-quality services are routinely provided by oncology pharmacists, this study was designed to evaluate the interventions through reviewing the orders that are generated by CPOE. Methods The objective of this retrospective chart review was to evaluate how pharmacists contributed to safe cancer treatment using paper-based pharmacy records. Data were collected from a total of 35,062 chemotherapy regimens for 18,515 outpatients between January and December 2013. Results Of these 35,062 chemotherapy regimens, the rate of pharmacists’ interventions was 1.1% (n = 408). Among them, 53.1% (217/408) of the chemotherapy prescriptions were modified due to pharmacist interventions. The reasons for interventions included “changes in the chemotherapy regimen were unclear” in 49.5%, “physicians’ prescription errors” (22.0%), “pharmacist suggestions to improve chemotherapy” (15.1%), and “finding differences between physicians’ chemotherapy records and their chemotherapy prescriptions” (13.2%). The top three reasons for the 217 prescription modifications due to pharmacist interventions were “finding prescription errors” (34.5%), “reasons for change in the chemotherapy regimen were unclear” (32.7%), and “finding differences between physicians’ chemotherapy records and their chemotherapy prescriptions” (28.5%). Conclusion The computer could not evaluate chemotherapy protocols or adjust doses of anticancer medicines according to patients’ conditions. Therefore, oncology pharmacists should continue to ensure safe and appropriate administration of cancer chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dealing with cultural diversity is one of the key challenges in contemporary societies, with Japan being no exception. However, relatively little is known about how minority group members are viewed by members of the dominant group. The current paper presents a study that evaluated three hypotheses that are related to these issues with a survey of 210 Japanese adult participants. The study also examines moderating roles of national identities in acculturation expectations and psychological functioning in the dominant group. Perceived security about the society in terms of national culture, and personal conditions in a multicultural society predict the most tolerant form of acculturation expectation. This association is mediated by one's multicultural ideology. Although acculturation expectations are not predictive of psychological functioning, particular national identity (i.e., internationalism) alleviates the negative effect of the closest form of expectation (exclusion) on psychological problems. The study implies the need for analysis on culture-specific constructs of multicultural society in perceptions and attitudes in the dominant group in Japanese society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study examines the implementation and short-term effects of a Learning Partner Model (LPM)-based educational program on cancer prevention and control information for community health volunteers in Japan. Methods: The program was undertaken by 3 local governments in collaboration with a government initiative and offered a 90-min group workshop to community health volunteers. Community health volunteers (primary participants) recruited in turn friend or family members (secondary participants) with whom they were prepared to share the content of the workshop with the help of printed materials received in the workshop. We conducted self-administered paper and pencil questionnaire surveys before, immediately after, and 3 months after the workshop. The t-test, Fisher's exact test, paired t-test, and McNemar test were used to compare the 2 groups' demographic characteristics and healthy habits at pretest. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare cancer prevention knowledge between groups and over time. Results: Of 142 participants, 107 pairs of learning partners (primary and corresponding secondary participant) completed all questionnaires. All primary participants and 37.4% of the secondary participants were women, and 57.9% of the learning partners were spouses. The results showed significantly higher correct answers on the cancer-prevention knowledge questions in the post-workshop and follow-up surveys compared to the pre-workshop survey (P < .001). The increase in knowledge was observed in all learning-partner groups in all 3 sites. Conclusion: The study demonstrates a promising strategy that can be adapted to the health needs of the community beyond cancer prevention and control, building on the efforts of local governments and government health initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We revisit the predictive ability of dividend changes for firms' future earnings and extend the literature by examining the effect of management forecasting ability. Although prior studies have examined the relationship between dividend changes and future earnings, the empirical evidence is mixed. The belief that dividend changes have implications for future earnings depends on the assumption that managers can accurately assess future earnings prospects. In this regard, we posit that the predictive ability of dividends can vary with managers' forecasting ability. Analyzing a large sample of Japanese dividend-paying firms, we find that dividend changes, particularly dividend increases, are positively associated with increases in future earnings. Consistent with our hypothesis, this positive association is more pronounced for firms with high-forecasting ability managers. Our findings support the signaling theory of dividend changes and indicate that management forecasting ability has a moderating effect on the linkage between firms' dividend changes and future earnings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the integration processes of international marriage migrants in Japan and South Korea and identifies the steps and conditions required for integration. It contributes to the wider discussion of obstacles that migrants face during the integration process. Despite Japan and South Korea's reluctance toward the influx of large numbers of international migrants, their stance is more positive toward (female) marriage migrants. The qualitative data used for the analysis were collected by authors during the period between 2007 and 2022 on women from former Soviet Union countries, married to South Korean (54) or Japanese (50) men. The analysis of women's experiences identifies four major steps leading to receiving society integration: Pre-migration, arrival, early years and long-term settlement. The findings show that early language acquisition and receiving family support resulted in relatively smooth integration. However, human capital appears to be both a driver and an obstacle to integration. Furthermore, mismatched gender role expectations, limited social networks and employment opportunities increased difficulties in the integration process. Additionally, stronger ties with the receiving family and weaker ties with the home countries influenced women's decision to settle in the country. The largest differences between Japan and South Korea were the higher employment opportunities for marriage migrants in South Korea, especially for those with professional skills and Korean language knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 created dangerous public health conditions which pressured governments and health systems to respond in a rapid and effective manner. However, this type of rapid response required many governments to bypass standing; bureaucratic structures of health sector administration and political governance to quickly take; essential measures against a rapidly evolving public health threat. Each government's particular; configuration of governmental and health system decision-making created specific structural and functional challenges to these necessary centrally developed and coordinated strategies. Most East Asian governments (except Japan) succeeded relatively quickly in centralizing essential disease control and treatment initiatives in a timely manner. In contrast, a number of European countries, especially those with predominantly tax-based financing and politically managed health delivery systems, had greater difficulty in escaping bureaucratic governance and management constraints. Drawing on data about these governments' early stage COVID-19 control experiences, this article suggests that structural changes will be necessary if low-performing governments are to better respond to a pandemic. This paper also summarizes other relatively successful strategies. By adopting such strategies, nations can help overcome structural bureaucratic and administrative obstacles in responding to further waves of COVID-19 or similar future pandemic events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Although measuring the ideal points of news media is essential for testing political communication theories based on spatial theory, prior methods of estimating ideal points of media outlets have various shortcomings, including high cost in terms of time and human resources and low applicability to different countries. We propose that unsupervised machine learning techniques for text data, specifically the combination of a text scaling method and latent topic modeling, can be applied to estimate ideal points of media outlets. We applied our proposed methods to editorial texts of ten national and regional newspapers in Japan, where prior approaches are not applicable because newspapers have never officially endorsed particular parties or candidates, and because high-quality training data for supervised learning are not available. Our two studies, one of which analyzed editorials on a single typically ideological topic while the other investigated all editorials published by the target papers in one year, confirmed the popular view of Japanese newspapers' ideological slant, which validates the effectiveness of our proposed approach. We also illustrate that our methods allow scholars to investigate which issues are closely related to the respective ideological positions of media outlets. Furthermore, we use the estimated ideal points of newspapers to show that Japanese people partially tend to read ideologically like-minded newspapers and follow such newspapers' Twitter accounts even though their slant is not explicit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In common with other countries, Japan has an ageing population and geographical impediments to healthcare access. The role of telemedicine within the Japanese health system may be of wide interest, yet it has not been comprehensively explored and documented. Thus, the aim of this study was to systematically review the Japanese and English language literature relating to the clinical use of telemedicine in Japan. Methods For studies published in Japanese, we searched Ichushi and CiNii. For English language publications, we searched Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. All peer-reviewed articles describing the clinical use of telemedicine and published between 2007 and 2016 were included. Data on clinical area, study type, technology used, and type of communication were extracted. Studies were categorised by prevention, screening, diagnosis, surveillance, and treatment. Results The search yielded 1476 records; 26 Japanese language and 15 English language articles were selected for review. A wide range of clinical areas were represented; however, home care and life-style related studies were dominant. More than 50% of studies were related to prevention and early diagnosis. The majority of Japanese studies involved doctor-to-doctor consultation. Smartphones and remote monitoring systems were the main types of technology used. Conclusions Most studies of telemedicine in Japan are published in the Japanese language and are thus relatively inaccessible to the rest of the world; for the first time, this study has provided an overview of the clinical use of telemedicine in Japan. The clinically related papers reflect the Japanese cultural focus on disease prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes research and development of an ice shell construction carried out in inland Hokkaido of Japan from 1980 to 2012.The ice shell is made of thin-walled curved ice plate and constructed according to the following method. (1) Building up a three-dimensional formwork by inflating a two-dimensional membrane bag covered with ropes anchored to the snow-ice foundation ring. (2) Covering the formwork with a thin saturated snow layer of less than 1 cm thickness by blowing milled snow with a rotary snow blower and spraying water with an adjustable nozzle, and letting it freeze naturally at temperatures below −10°C. (3) Repeating (2) until shell thickness reaches to the design thickness, then removing the bag and ropes for reuse. A number of ice shells were constructed as temporary winter structures while improving the construction technique through the repeated construction experiences. Based on the field experiments of 10–30 m ice domes (" X m ice dome" means the ice dome constructed by using X m diameter of circular membrane bag in the formwork before inflation) which measured the deflection and temperature under long term period after the completion and further observed the behavior of the collapse, it was recognized that understanding the creep behavior is extremely important for evaluating the structural safety of the ice shell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an ethnography of a Buddhist, Catholic, and secular collaboration tending to the souls of marginalized men in San'ya, Tokyo's former day labor ghetto. How does this post-secular project focused on death and the afterlife reshape relationships that bond the living and the dead? How does it relate to neoliberal biopolitics of urban poverty management? This paper demonstrates how the project subverts traditional Japanese patrilineal necrosociality in ways that enhance ontological security and social ties among participants. Additionally, project developers' post-secular notion of rapprochement through acknowledging and accepting differences between communities bridged long-time rifts among faith, social service, and activist groups. While in some ways the project enables neoliberal privatization of social services, it is also a potent form of resistant necropolitics from below that reconfigures social relations around death to connect diverse groups, highlighting and addressing the limitations of a familial model of welfare amid neoliberal capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine how parental caregiving affects women's employment in Japan. Drawing on the 2005–2014 Longitudinal Survey of Middle-Aged and Elderly Persons, we estimate logistic regression models for the employment status of middle-aged women in various types of employment as a function of caregiving intensity to examine when and in what context caregivers' employment may be at risk for Japanese women. The results showed that working women who began providing 5 or more hours of care per week were significantly more likely to leave their jobs than non-caregiving women; those who began providing fewer than 5 hours of care per week did not show this likelihood. Among women in regular employment, those who began to provide 5 or more hours of care per week and those who provided care in the previous year were more likely to stop working or change jobs than their non-caregiving counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial scan statistics are widely used tools for the detection of disease clusters. Especially, the circular spatial scan statistic proposed by Kulldorff along with SaTScan software has been used in a wide variety of epidemiological studies and disease surveillance. However, as it cannot detect non-circular, irregularly shaped clusters, many authors have proposed non-circular spatial scan statistics. Above all, the flexible spatial scan statistic proposed by Tango and Takahashi along with FleXScan software has also been used. However, it does not seem to be well recognized that these spatial scan statistics, especially SaTScan, tend to detect the most likely cluster, much larger than the true cluster by absorbing neighboring regions with nonelevated risk of disease occurrence. Therefore, if researchers reported the detected most likely cluster as they are, it might lead to a criticism to them due to the fact that some regions with nonelevated risk are included in the detected most likely cluster. In this paper, to avoid detecting such undesirable and misleading clusters which might cause a social concern, we shall propose the use of the restricted likelihood ratio proposed by Tango and illustrate the procedure with two kinds of mortality data in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dealing with an aging society is a global challenge, and more countries than ever before are now mobilizing their healthcare systems to provide high-quality long-term care (LTC) to older adults. This paper reviews the current situation pertaining to aging and the issues for measuring the LTC quality in Japan. It also introduces current efforts to develop quality indicators for measuring LTC quality. Assuring the quality of LTC and developing indicators to measure its quality is a challenge worldwide. Detailed systems for LTC quality measurement have been developed and managed, primarily in the US. In Japan, on the other hand, such systems do not exist; the public LTC system mostly depends on the evaluation of structural aspects, such as facility structure and staffing. Our research group has been developing quality indicators to measure LTC quality. In the future, we aim to evaluate care quality in various LTC settings using the proposed quality indicators, aiming to improve care quality across LTC settings in the community-based integrated care system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan welcomes highly educated migrants, but do these migrants stay on in Japan? Drawing on a web survey of 600 immigrant employees working in Japan, this paper evaluates different factors influencing migrants' stay and leave intentions. The results indicate that economic and employment-related reasons have limited impact on migrants' stay intentions. Nationalities also predict migrants' varied willingness to stay in Japan, indicating the blurring boundary between economic and cultural logics of migration. Among all factors, marrying locals provides the strongest incentive to stay, demonstrating again that affective and social ties exercise the most power in anchoring the migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the versatile use of TikTok among Japanese media users in the context of the platform's increased appeal during the COVID-19 pandemic. Japanese users have adopted global trends of sharing creative content under prominent hashtags to spread a sense of togetherness in a time of social isolation. As social forms of entertainment are disrupted and paused, the practice of singing and dancing on TikTok is substituted for the joy of singing in a karaoke bar. This study adopts a walkthrough method to provide an analysis of TikTok's sociotechnical affordances and employs a content analysis for close reading of users' videos and their accompanying captions and hashtags. The study reveals that the socialities previously afforded by karaoke cultures linger in TikTok song and idol dance challenges and duets, hashtag initiatives mimicking karaoke practices, and users' endeavours to become 'TikTok famous'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses findings from online surveys completed by parents of 0–3-year-old children in Norway, Portugal and Japan concerning their young children's use of touchscreen technology. The study investigated parental practices, views and perspectives related to children's digital practices and explored these in relation to wider cultural discourses around early childhood in the participant countries. The study adopted Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory to inform the questionnaire and interpretative data analysis of how parents' views and experiences are influenced by a wide range of social, cultural and personal factors. The findings demonstrate some coherence between beliefs among parents regarding very young children's use of touchscreen technologies and their place in the children's home lives. Quantitative and qualitative results highlight that the respondents from all countries expressed the need for further guidance regarding technology use, and better communication with early education and care centres. The study findings are discussed in relation to the reported uses of touchscreen technologies in the three different cultural contexts, parents' views on the benefits and/or disadvantages of children's touchscreen technology use, and the potential influences of dominant cultural discourses on parents' perceptions, views and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have examined the more nuanced experiential facets of self-conscious emotion from a cross-cultural perspective. The present study's aim was to investigate shame and embarrassment experiences in relation to shame logics (or appraisals), shame antecedents and intensity across cultures in Australia and Japan, drawing on Fessler's Dual Logics Model of Shame (Fessler, 2004), and applying a new instrument (The Self-Conscious Emotion Questionnaire). There were 157 participants from two cultures, Japan (75) and Australia (82) who completed both paper-based and web-based questionnaires. Previous findings showing a higher experienced shame intensity found in Japan were corroborated across all shame and embarrassment logics. While the logic of 'norm non-conformity' was the strongest logic in both cultures, the logic of 'status lowness' was prominent in Japan but not Australia, and the novel logic of 'broken positive assumptions about the self' was prominent in both cultures. Shame in Japan appeared to be stronger with an introspective 'eyes of self' but explicitly described trigger, whereas in Australia, it was more publicly 'eyes of other' and implicitly induced counter to some expectations. Findings support the Self-Conscious Emotion Questionnaire as an instrument for exploring nuanced aspects of self-conscious emotion in cross-cultural research and lend support to a novel third logic of 'broken positive assumptions about the self' in both Australian and Japanese samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: Japan has traditionally been thought of as a linguistically homogenous and therefore monolingual society. Consequently, very few Japanese people consider themselves bilingual, let alone translingual; however, the reality of Japanese society would suggest otherwise. This paper's objective was to shed light on the largely unrecognized translanguaging practices prevalent throughout Japanese society. It also attempts to address the question of why Japanese people largely fail to recognize their own translingual status despite their ability to live and act in an increasingly translingual society with few communicative issues. Design/Methodology/Approach: This paper takes a visual ethnography approach to examine an assortment of concrete photographic materials collected by the researcher. A descriptive qualitative framework was employed whereby written explanations and interpretation consolidate visual photographic representations to provide an insight into the translingual practices of Japanese society. Data and Analysis: Based on a descriptive qualitative framework, in which emphasis was placed on understanding the identified phenomena in their own right through analysis of emergent descriptions rather than predetermined options, 10 instances of translanguaging practices were analyzed in depth throughout this paper under six different themes: simple translation, intersentential practices, intrasentential, practices interlexical practices, intralexical practices, and semiotic-reliant practices. Findings/Conclusions: The findings provide concrete evidence of intersentential, intrasentential, interlexical, intralexical, and semiotic-reliant translingual practices working together to create a linguistically rich Japanese society that is undeniably deserving of a translingual accreditation. Originality: This is the first study that has looked at the translanguaging practices of Japanese society and identified it as being deserving of a translingual accreditation. Significance/Implications: This paper contributes toward an epistemological shift away from the erroneous notion that Japan is a monolingual nation, and brings about awareness to celebrate the underlying translingualism that runs prevalent throughout modern Japanese society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurial ecosystems are the focus of government economic policies around the world for their potential to generate entrepreneur-led economic development. The paper identifies key research questions and challenges to building effective public policy: (i) the limitations of existing data sources, (ii) the need to balance findings from quantitative and qualitative studies, (iii) the danger that entrepreneurial ecosystems will be just a policy fad, (iv) the narrow focus of policy and research on high tech firms and scale-ups, and (v) the need to balance research approaches between simplified models and a complex systems approach. There is a need for a better understanding of the diversity of policy contexts (level of government, country context) and model of ecosystem governance. A more granulated understanding of ecosystem thinking is required, with greater consideration of the diversity of actors and the institutional context, with more attention given to the heterogeneous nature of places and complex interactions between actors and networks. Looking to the future, the potential of new data sources and methodologies is identified. Future research should give greater consideration to the institutional context to understand how policy can better support entrepreneurial activity and the extent to which specific policies can be replicated elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nurses experience moral distress when they cannot do what they believe is right or when they must do what they believe is wrong. Given the limited mechanisms for managing ethical issues for nurses in Japan, an Online Ethics Consultation on mental health (OEC) was established open to anyone seeking anonymous consultation on mental health practice. Research objective: To report the establishment of the Online Ethics Consultation and describe and evaluate its effectiveness. Ethical considerations: The research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Research design: This evaluation describes the outcomes of 5 years of operation of the Online Ethics Consultation on mental health in Japan Participants: The Online Ethics Consultation received 12 emails requesting consultation. Consultees included mental health nurses, psychiatrists, and service users. Findings: The most common questions directed to the service were about seclusion and physical restraint. Response time from receipt of email to sending a reply was between 1 and 14 days. Despite the disappointing number of consultations, feedback has been positive. Discussion: The Online Ethics Consultation was established to assist morally sensitive nurses in resolving their ethical problems through provision of unbiased and encouraging advice. Mental health care in Japan has been less than ideal: long-term social hospitalization, seclusion, and restraint are common practices that often lead to moral distress in nurses and the questions received reflected this. The head of the Online Ethics Consultation sent a supportive, facilitative response summarizing the opinions of several consultants. Conclusion: This study provides key information for the establishment of an online ethics resource the adoption of which has the potential to improve the experience of nurses, allied health and clients of mental health services. This paper has implications for services concerned with improving patient care, managing nurses' moral distress, building ethics into decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]