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Purpose: This paper aims to explain and analyze community-based corporate knowledge sharing and organizational learning, the actual use of communities in Hewlett Packard (HP) Consulting and Integration (CI) and their role in leveraging and exploiting existing and creating new knowledge. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents an explanatory case study research design, qualitative interviews with top executives, middle managers and employees conducted in 2005 and 2006. Explanatory case studies were used to analyze, illustrate and exemplify major findings. Findings: The paper identified an effective approach to community-based knowledge sharing and organizational learning at HP CI Japan's learning communities (LCs). The case study illustrates the main characteristics, features and mechanisms of communities within the framework of HP's global and local knowledge management (KM) structure and resulting activities, and illuminates effective adaptation to the Japanese working and business context. Research limitations/implications: General limitations of case studies and generalizability of such field research apply. Practical implications: The research has important implications for firms and business practitioners by highlighting how HP's Japanese-style LCs facilitate intra-organizational knowledge sharing and creation. Originality/value: This paper presents a real-life example of an effective community at HP CI Japan, its mechanism and practical value for companies. Even though HP's KM activities have frequently been researched, HP CI's learning communities are discussed for the first time and illuminate that even within one single company there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

This paper reports on combining semiotic and discursive approaches to reification in classroom interactions. It focuses on the discursive characteristics and semiotic processes involved in the teaching and learning of square roots in a ninth grade classroom in Japan. The purpose of this study is to characterize the development of mathematical discourses in a series of mathematics lessons in terms of the "commognitive framework" and the model of semiotic chaining. To achieve this objective, the notion of reification is revisited from cognitive, semiotic, and discursive points of view, and classroom activities are observed and analysed in terms of the combined theoretical framework. The results suggest that the model of semiotic chaining is not incommensurable with a strong discursive approach and the changes of meta-discursive rules--an essential aspect of the reification of new signifiers--that take place in the phases of the learning of addition on square roots.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has led the way in constructing the East Asian region with China, Japan, and South Korea, and an inter-regional entity with the European Union (EU)--known as the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). The initial aims were security and trade. Recently, however, higher education has been brought into these regionalising processes, largely as a response to the globalising of neoliberalism. The paper argues that regions are social, economic, and political constructions shaped by both material forces and cultural factors. It emphasises the importance of the latter and explains three mechanisms at work: "harmonisation" to build intra-ASEAN higher education cooperation; "socialisation" to create the ASEAN+3 region; and "mutual learning" to engage with the EU in shaping an "ASEM Education Area". These mechanisms influence the ways in which regional actors form new conceptions of self and other, negotiate norms, and (re)construct their identities and interests, thus creating new forms of cooperation and community. Particularly, "mutual learning" generates the outcome of a deeper negotiation for an equal partnership between the "Asia" and the "Europe" in ASEM. Hence, higher education regionalism emerges as a way to reposition Southeast Asia.

We aimed to survey the findings of phenomenological studies built up in the field of diabetes care in Sweden. This is a meta-synthesis of phenomenological studies on experiences related to diabetes in Sweden focusing on learning to live with diabetes. We proceeded by reference to the seven phases of Noblit & Hare. We examined papers from seven phenomenological studies on learning to live with diabetes in Sweden. From the papers, which describe the experience of living with diabetes, three overarching themes were selected—perception and awareness of the body; integration and responsibility; and presence of others who provide support. From those describing the expert's experience, an overarching theme emerged—encouraging reflection in persons with diabetes. We interpreted each of these themes in phenomenological terms and compared them with theories in Japan. Persons with diabetes take responsibility for coping with a range of things brought on by the illness and learn to live with diabetes. Experts support these persons so they can see their world objectively and critically scrutinize it. By building a model of diabetes care in Japan that references Scandinavian human science, it will be possible to find new approaches that support learning at the existential level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scene text detection has been widely studied on haze‐free images with reliable ground truth annotation. However, detecting scene text in inclement weather conditions remains a major challenge due to the severe domain distribution mismatch problem. This paper introduces a domain adaptation curriculum learning method to address this problem. The scene text detector is self‐trained in an easy‐to‐hard manner using the pseudo‐labels predicted from foggy images. Thus, our method reduces the pseudo‐labeling noise level. Then, a feature alignment module is introduced to help the network learn domain‐invariant features by training a domain classifier. Experimental results show that our method improved significantly on both synthetic foggy data sets and natural foggy data sets, outperforming many state‐of‐the‐art scene text detectors. © 2024 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A research project on chemical AI, called the Molecular Cybernetics Project, was launched in Japan in 2021 with the goal of creating a molecular machine that can learn a type of conditioned reflex through the process of classical conditioning. In this project, we have developed a learning method for the network of such learning molecular machines, which is reported in this paper. First, as a model of a learning molecular machine, we formulate a logic gate that can learn conditioned reflex and introduce the network of the logic gates. Then we derive a key principle for learning, called the flipping principle, by which we present a learning algorithm for the network to realize a desired function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As learning analytics research has become active both in Japan and abroad, there is a growing demand for data analysis that contributes to the improvement of learning environments that utilizes evidence based on the collection of the results of such analysis. However, in order to accumulate evidence for effective improvement of learning environment, data analysis and practical studies are needed to be utilized for improvement of learning environment. This explanatory paper reviews research on evidence-based improvement of learning environments through learning analytics and introduces examples of learning analytics research conducted by the authors to support learning and improve teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of the information age and the progress of science and technology, the traditional education model cannot meet the needs of teachers and students for richer knowledge and diversified teaching methods in the new era. The traditional basic Japanese teaching mode has not matched with the current form of social development. Therefore, it is urgent to establish a new basic Japanese teaching model. The development of multimedia brings the Internet mixed teaching mode, which just fills the gap of this kind of teaching method and provides new ideas and ways for the reform of teaching methods. The application of multimedia network assisted teaching in basic Japanese teaching plays a great role in promoting basic Japanese teaching. In the multimedia network environment, how to let students learn independently, find and raise problems by themselves, and analyze and solve problems at a deeper level has attracted the attention of many educators. Improving the practicability of Japanese teaching is very important for Japanese teaching in colleges and universities. Therefore, this paper studies media teaching, analyzes the current and existing problems of multimedia teaching in Japanese teaching and the principles that should be followed in order to develop, finds the limitations of using multimedia teaching methods in the current Japanese teaching and learning process, and puts forward targeted suggestions and application strategies on these limitations, and builds a new model of basic Japanese teaching under the multimedia network environment., Competing Interests: The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 JianXue Xia.)

This paper reports on an exploratory case study to help facilitate a culture of dialogue in Japan. There is an emphasis on proposing methods for polyphonic dialogue among citizens, and between citizens and experts, to effectively manage the environment. This paper argues that a culture of dialogue is essential to pluralistic participatory environmental governance. A random sampling-based citizen dialogue—involving experts and citizens—regarding radioactive waste disposal was held in Japanese cities. Three proposed methods—politeness-based facilitation dialogue, evidence-based and position-explicit presentations by experts with differing views and experts reflecting in tandem with citizens engaged in dialogue—might lead to enhanced positive attitudes toward dialogue with others holding different views, as well as better internal self-deliberation. Attitudes for dialogue were measured empirically. The current research suggests that explicit treatment of pluralistic positions and views among citizens and experts would be a key factor for quality social learning and resilience for uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the potential of learner-initiated exploratory practice (EP), which encourages learners to set their own investigative agenda based on their curiosity-driven puzzles. A case study was conducted in a remedial course for undergraduate students at a university in Japan. Data included student puzzles, posters, and reflective questionnaires. Student investigations of their puzzles remind teachers and researchers of the affordances of learning from learners. The results suggested that, despite their previously disoriented attitudes towards learning English, this form of fully inclusive practitioner research, EP, provides learners with an opportunity to realize their curiosity and reinvigorate their motivation towards language learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A growing body of research demonstrates that adapting the popular entertainment activity "escape rooms" for educational purposes as an innovative teaching method can improve the learning experience. Escape rooms promote teamwork, encourage analytical thinking, and improve problem solving. Despite the increasing development and use of escape rooms in health sciences programs and academic libraries, there is little literature on the use of this method in health sciences libraries with health professions students. Case Presentation: Staff at a health sciences library collaborated with faculty to incorporate escape rooms into library instruction in a variety of settings (in-person, hybrid, online) and formats (team, individual) with health professions students from various disciplines (optometry, pharmacy, medicine). The escape rooms described in this paper offered unique experiences for students through active learning. Discussion: Important considerations when planning escape rooms for health sciences library instruction include deciding on team-based or individual design, calculating potential costs in time and money, deciding on an in-person, hybrid, or online format, and determining whether grades should be assigned. Escape rooms can be an effective strategy for library instruction in the health sciences, working in multiple formats to bring game-based learning to a variety of health professions students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I describe and analyse learner task-based interactions from a multimodal perspective with the aim of better understanding how learners’ interpersonal relationships might affect task performance. Task-based pedagogy is focused on classroom interaction between learners, yet analysis of tasks has often neglected the analysis of this interaction. The empirical studies that have occurred have mostly looked at the relationship between task-design and task-performance, ignoring other aspects of context, such as friendship groupings. Friendship groupings among learners are argued to impact upon classroom interaction and affect what we do as teachers and, as such, require attention. In the project reported on here I undertook a multimodal analysis of the interactions of one class of Japanese EFL learners, focusing in this paper on one particular learner performing a task in two different groups. The discussion suggests that his interpersonal relationships with the other learners do affect his task performance and success in engaging with the aims of the task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is presenting a part of the results obtained between 2021-2022 within the Capacity building Project "Challenges of Maritime Digital Leaders in the Algorithmic Age (DIGITAL LEADER)", research grant by the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU) and the Nippon Foundation in Japan. Anticipating the structurally change of careers choice from sea to shore-based employment, in order to increase the attractiveness for studies, maritime educational institutions expand the focus of teaching technical core competences and knowledge necessary for on board jobs, to those competences needed for an array of on-shore jobs, complementary to seafaring. Some of the objectives of the study were to establish most in-demand skills for maritime digital leadership and to propose updated operational training methods for maritime training necessary to increase the students' attractiveness for maritime transport studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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As a result of the rushed transition to remote teaching because of the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers have suddenly been forced to design mobile-assisted language learning (MALL; m-learning) activities, mostly for the first time in their careers. However, it is imperative that instructors realize that the challenge is greater than simply converting paper-based assignments into a digital format. There has been very little research done examining the cognitive effects of writing on a smartphone, compared to writing on paper. The current study therefore sought to examine how recollection of content differed depending on the medium used for notetaking. A population of 138 Japanese university students of English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) were asked to transcribe a short text, either by paper or by smartphone, and then quizzed on the content immediately afterwards. Students who wrote the text by hand were found to have significantly greater recollection of the content compared to those who had 'tapped' on smartphones. These results follow precursor research which indicated that Japanese students compose significantly slower on their phones in English (Lee, 2020b), and wrote significantly less in writing tasks (Lee, 2019, 2020a) than handwriting counterparts., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose - The aims of this paper are to point out the effectiveness of the education at Maiko and show the direction of effective school disaster education. Design/methodology/approach - The questionnaire survey was conducted in 12 schools (1,065 students) from different parts of Japan, including that of Maiko, to understand the linking between disaster education and students' awareness. Findings - The questionnaire results show a distinct higher risk perception and risk reduction actions of the students in the Maiko, as compared to other schools. The Maiko focuses on mitigation and preparedness, mainly teaches about the social environment, and makes students think of the importance of implementation. This learning process is found to be effective in reducing the gap between intention and action. Research limitations/implications - This study points out the crucial points of disaster education based on the education at Maiko. The specific case of disaster education should be developed in each school, adapting local situation. Practical implications - The study findings are of significant importance for school-teachers or education departments, while designing the curriculum for disaster education. Originality/value - The paper shows that education at Maiko is one of the best practices of school based disaster education and the findings and recommendations can be effective at other schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children with epilepsy often show some degree of cognitive impairment. In this study, we investigated their learning skills to clarify the characteristics of the difficulties related to learning in Japanese-speaking children with focal epilepsy., Methods: The study included 13 boys and 17 girls of mean age 9.7 years (standard deviation 2.61; range 6-14 years) with focal epilepsy and a normal magnetic resonance brain scan. None of the patients had any other neurological disorder., Results: Twenty-two children had "learning difficulties", i.e., an intellectual disability or low scores on a learning abilities task. Significant differences were found in age (P = 0.030), age at onset of epilepsy (P = 0.033), and electroencephalographic findings, as well as between bilateral vs. unilateral (P = 0.028) and right-localized vs. left-localized or bilateral (P = 0.014) involvement between subjects with and without learning difficulties. Seven (88%) of eight children with low scores on a learning abilities task showed abnormalities in reading speed., Discussion: More than half of Japanese-speaking children with focal epilepsy need learning assistance. This finding points to a need for learning support in children with focal epilepsy regardless of language. Measurement of reading speed is useful in children with learning difficulties to identify those who require early intervention., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. All rights reserved.)

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide quantitative evidence of natural disasters’ (NDs) effect on corporate performance and studies the mechanisms through which the supply chain moderates and mediates the link.Design/methodology/approach Using two major NDs as quasi-experiment, namely the 2011 Japanese earthquake-tsunami (JET) and Thai flood (TF), and data over the period 2010Q1-2013Q4, effect of these events on end assemblers’ performance is studied, with a focus on the personal computer (PC) supply chain. The moderating influence of delivery and sourcing – as supply chain flexibility and agility – are examined through end assemblers’ and suppliers’ inventory. The suppliers’ mediating role is captured as disruption in obtaining PC components through their sales.Findings Only JET had any negative effect, further quantified as short-term and long-term. The TF instead portrays an insignificant but positive aftermath, which is construed as showing learning from experience and adaptability following JET. Inventory matters, but differently for the two events, and suppliers only exhibit a moderating influence on the assemblers’ disaster-performance link.Originality/value NDs, as catastrophic vulnerabilities, are distinct from other vulnerabilities in that they are hard to predict and have significant impact. Since little is known about the impact of NDs on firm performance and how supply chain mechanisms moderate or mediate their impact, they should be distinctly modelled and empirically studied from other vulnerabilities. This paper sheds light on supply chain resilience to such events with the role of dynamic capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The models developed in this paper seek to open up the 'black-box' of learning. I suggest that we need to think of learning-by-doing as a process of knowledge creation on the shop-floor by specialized teams of engineers. Learning is to be viewed, therefore, as a conscious decision and not a mere by-product of production. The models in this paper provide the basis for understanding international and inter-firm differences in rates of learning. For example, cheaper engineering resources, longer time horizons, faster output growth rates and superior transferability of knowledge from engineers to production workers are shown to be some possible factors responsible for faster learning in Japanese firms compared to U.S. firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear power has remained a hugely controversial energy technology since the 1970s and became particularly so after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident. Engaging citizens in making energy decisions have thus become an increasingly important governing approach to post‐Fukushima energy transitions in many countries. Deliberative participatory processes and learning through social interactions have been increasingly regarded as critical elements of effective public engagement. Yet, little is known about who learns what, how they learn, and what impacts learning has on nuclear governance. Even less is known about the contextual factors influencing social learning. Advancing the literature on nuclear governance, deliberative participation, and social learning, this paper proposes a learning‐oriented framework to evaluate the outcomes of deliberative participation in the context of nuclear governance. We apply this framework in a case study of a national deliberative poll (DP) on energy conducted in Japan in 2012. We critically examine the extent to which and how social learning occurs under the influence of pre‐existing government‐industry‐society relations as a key contextual factor. Mainly based on a qualitative analysis of transcribed materials from a two‐day deliberation over the DP involving 285 citizens, this study has three main findings. First, participating citizens of the DP were able to acquire all of the three orders of social learning through deliberative processes in the DP process. Second, the provision of multiple sources of information, access to diverse perspectives, and the availability of plenty of dialogic processes are identified as factors that were found to facilitate advancement toward higher orders of learning. Third, the "nuclear iron triangle"—a pro‐nuclear coalition—appeared to constrain social learning impacts in the wider socio‐political systems of nuclear governance in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper introduces and compares the use of current robotics kits developed by different companies in Japan for education purposes. These kits are targeted to a large audience: from primary school students, to university students and also up to adult lifelong learning. We selected company and kits that are most successful in the Japanese market. Unfortunately, most information regarding the technical specifications, the practical usages, and the actual educational activities carried out with these kits are currently available in Japanese only. The main motivation behind this paper is to give non-Japanese speakers interested in educational robotics an overview of the use of educational kits in Japan. The paper is completed by a short description of a new pseudo-natural language we propose for effectively programming one of the presented robots, the educational humanoid Robovie-X. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem Japanese universities face is exactly the same as that of German universities: no international recognition in world rankings of universities despite their high levels of postwar economic and technological developments. This was indeed one reason why world-class Japanese firms, such as Toyota and Sony, have avoided working closely with Japanese universities for R&D partnership and new technology commercialization. To resolve this problem, the Japanese government has continuously implemented aggressive policies of the internationalization, privatization, liberalization, and privatization of universities since the onset of the economic recession in 1989 in order to revitalize the Japanese economy through radical innovation projects between universities and firms. National projects of developing medical robots for Japan's ageing society are some of the ambitious examples that emphasize feed-forward learning in innovation. However, this paper argues that none of these programs of fostering university-firm alliances toward feed-forward learning has been successful in promoting the world ranking of Japanese universities, although they showed potentials of reinforcing their conventional strength of introducing kaizen through feedback learning of tacit knowledge. It is therefore argued in this paper that Japanese universities and firms should focus on feedback learning as a way to motivate firm-university R&D alliances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Education for sustainable development (ESD) aims at changing the approach to education that integrates principles, values and practices of sustainable development, and needs to be incorporated into all forms of learning and education. The purpose of this paper is to review the way in which ESD has been developed at universities in Japan. The paper also seeks to examine major patterns of education and research related to ESD at Japanese universities. Design/methodology/approach – The authors adopted two research approaches: a review of literature and electronic resources, mainly the web sites of universities, to present the overview of ESD at Japanese universities; and a questionnaire survey which analyzed responses from 18 undergraduate programs and 14 postgraduate programs at Japanese universities. Findings – The paper points out that the ESD implementation in higher education in Japan lacks coherence with other education reforms and is not linked with ESD at school and local levels. The paper also stresses that initial stages of ESD in Japan have prioritized environmental sustainability and have not yet adequately expanded to include wider issues concerning ESD. Moreover, the paper discusses that there is a lack of internal consensus to promote ESD and shared recognition inside universities, combined with a lack of effective guidance designed to enable students to acquire cross-disciplinary perspectives. Originality/value – There are many universities implementing ESD-related programs and activities in various countries. Yet, there has not been enough study done to reveal the constraints/problems universities are facing to promote ESD. This paper's originality and value addresses this research gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of 'lifelong learning' or shōgai gakushu has rapidly become one of the topmost priorities in Japan's education policy agenda. This was considerably evident in December 2006 when the term 'lifelong learning' was added to Japan's educational charter, the Fundamental Law of Education. This paper explores, as a means to develop Japan's new lifelong learning policy, the lessons that can be learnt through an examination of the European countries' efforts to build a knowledge economy, where lifelong learning is regarded as the key solution in overcoming several important social and economic concerns. In this paper, I first examine the current situation of lifelong learning in Japan, employing the ethnographic data that I have collected since 2001. Second, I provide a brief review of the European lifelong learning policy, which is one of the priority guidelines in the European Union. Under the Lisbon Strategy, for example, the argument on European lifelong learning theoretically centres on developing human capital in order to survive in the global knowledge economy. Lastly, referring to the European experience over the past decade, I propose to directly connect Japan's latest policy development regarding lifelong learning with the trend of building human capital through lifelong learning in order to enhance its competitiveness in the era of globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has influenced many aspects of tertiary educational institutions in Japan. Many Self-Access Learning Centers (SALCs) at universities are also required to change their operation and support systems. This paper introduces how the SALC at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) has supported students during the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses successful points and limitations of the online support system, which is characterized as emergency remote support (ERS). The research analyzes survey and interview data collected from five Japanese peer advisors (PAs) who work at the SALC. We find that ERS at the SALC can sufficiently provide students with individual support in learning and practicing languages as well as some psychological support via a videoconferencing tool. However, we also identify that ERS cannot create an environment for socialization and social learning compared to the usual SALC in which students gather and socialize with others freely while developing their language and communication abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the turn of the century there has been increasing interest in educational assessment and the ways in which it can encourage or discourage effective learning processes. Much of this interest has centered around formative assessment and those practices which can promote student learning through the act of being assessed. Societies that have a Confucian heritage culture are widely believed to prioritize summative assessment at the expense of formative assessment. This will inevitably impact the ways in which students from these countries approach and engage with assessment tasks. The present study seeks to understand the dispositions of students from one Confucian heritage culture though the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. The conceptions and experiences of university students in Japan were studied in order to provide direction for the development of formative assessment practice. Two data collection instruments were used: a self-report survey and a narrative frame task. The results indicate that students from Japan approach assessment tasks in a way that is at odds with some popular Confucian categories, such as intense competition, a desire to please the family, and the priority of book knowledge above practical skill. The paper concludes with pedagogical implications for teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the patterns of language choice and the construction of L2 learning opportunities in foreign language learners' social networks by focusing on how these patterns and opportunities are socially structured in a Japanese language learner's natural interactions. It is based on a range of data, including a script of on-line chat occurring in natural environments as well interview data. Drawing on Cummins' (1996) concept of interpersonal space, the findings indicate that there were a number of social and contextual factors that seemed to affect the learner's language choice and L2 learning opportunities in complex ways. Most of these factors appeared to be related to the learner's and/or his network interactants' identity as an adequate L2 user and their perception of each other's L2 proficiency and/or role. This paper provides insights into how to create environments that promote the learners' opportunities for L2 use and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the social dimension of lifelong learning from the perspective of demographics, with particular focus on the issue of the birth of fewer children, which has become one of the most important current social issues in Japanese society. When considering hie relationship between lifelong learning and demographics, the issues arising from an ageing population are usually the focus of policy-makers. This perspective often overlooks crucial children's issues, such as child development and the influence of the child's daily environment. This paper suggests that it is necessary to analyse the issues arising from a society with fewer children independent of the concept of an aged society with fewer children in an attempt to emphasize these essential issues. The presented relationship between lifelong learning and the issues surrounding the birth of fewer children is based on two perspectives. The first perspective seeks to remove barriers such as the economic burden of educating children and the traditional stereotypical gender-roles that have contributed to the birth of fewer children. The second perspective includes a response to the negative influences that the birth of fewer children has had on family's experiences of child rearing and on children's growth. Specifically, this paper develops the second perspective by focusing on three aspects: the development of children's social skills; children's growth as influenced by a high adult-child ratio; a decline in the quality of child rearing. Three issues are identified as necessary in order to build a Japanese society that fosters children: (1) embracing the concept of the "family-friendly company'; (2) creating opportunities for mixed age groups to participate in learning programmes based on communities and schools; (3) reconsidering an intergenerational exchange programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A feature of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program, which aims to internationalize Japan and to improve the English-speaking ability of its students, is the hiring of Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) who are described by the Japanese government as native-level speakers of English working in Japanese classrooms. By using critical applied linguistic which focuses on questions of power, difference, access and domination in the use of the English language (Pennycook, 2001), this paper examines the motivations of the Filipino teachers as ALTs, the processes of international teacher recruitment and how their 'nonnativeness' reconfigure their identity as nonnative English speaker teachers (NNESTs) and Filipino migrants. Data from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions of Filipino ALTs and Japanese teachers show that English is both motivation and vehicle for migration and settlement for the Filipino teachers. "Nonnativeness" requires from them reconfiguration of their identity which entails them to sound native, counteract perceived forms of discrimination and assess their roles in the spread and use of English. This "nonnativeness" is a repudiation of their skills and qualifications as English teachers thus, paving the way for an interrogation of language ideologies, and of linguistic and racial identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of social networking systems has enabled communication to occur around the globe almost instantly, with news about various events being spread around the world as they happen. There has also been much interest in the benefits and disadvantages the use of such social networking systems may bring for education. This paper reports on the use of Twitter in a Japanese university course, and the effect it had on the participants' autonomy. The second language learning motivation and metacognitive skills of 34 Japanese university students studying in a foreign cultures class were measured using both open-ended and closed-ended items in a questionnaire. The results suggest that only students who have high linguistic self-confidence will display progress in taking charge of their learning habits and becoming autonomous in their study as a consequence of using a social networking system in class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper constructs a language learning perspective derived from the philosophical work of Félix Guattari, which enables a re-evaluation of the ways in which Japanese university students learn English in Japan. The implementation of Guattarian pedagogic practises into the English teaching environment at university in Japan has distinct advantages, which will explored throughout this article by close examination with respect to Guattari's arguments on language and technology. Applying Guattari in the English teaching and learning classroom at university does not neutralise the clash of cultures between the East and West as such, but rather dramatises the collisions and encourages 'mutant outgrowths' for the purposes of language learning. The reason for exploring these impacts in language learning environments is found in the theory of affect that one derives from Guattari. The deployment of Guattari in this context creates the possibility for an identity-based English learning agency open to a technologised and globalised subject, which is at the same time indelibly Japanese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vocabulary knowledge is of paramount importance when learning a second language. It requires effective and practical classroom vocabulary learning methods for long-term acquisition. Specific learning aspects helping the learner remember vocabulary such as spaced repetition and retrieval practice have shown efficacy but are often disconnected from practical in-class methods that can be used repeatedly. This study looked at data from 74 university students in Japan studying English vocabulary with the GoldList Notebook Method, which incorporates spaced learning and retrieval practice. The study was conducted over a nine-week period and consisted of a pre-test of target L2 idioms, a lesson teaching the idioms, the implementation of the GoldList Notebook Method, and a post-test on the target idioms. The data collected were analyzed through fixed effects with a generalized linear model in R version 4.0.3 and R Studio 1.2.5. In addition to quantitative data collected through the pre- and posttests, qualitative observational data was compiled on the use of the GoldList Notebook Method in the classroom. The findings showed efficacy in using the method and found particular merit to spaced learning over two-week intervals. The study further addresses problems teachers may face implementing the method in the classroom and possible ways to alleviate the issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the past limitations on clinical practice training during the COVID-19 pandemic, a hybrid format program was developed, combining a time-lapse unfolding case study and high-fidelity simulation. This study assesses the effectiveness of a new form of clinical training from the perspective of student nurses. A questionnaire was administered to 159 second-year nursing students enrolled in the "Basic Nursing Practice II" course. Text mining was performed using quantitative text analysis for the following items: (1) aspects that were learned more deeply, (2) benefits, and (3) difficulties encountered with the new practice format. The new clinical practice format enhanced participants' learning related to the daily changes required in nursing care and improved their nursing competency through simulated patient interactions. However, the participants faced difficulties dealing with patients accompanied by secular changes. Moreover, they found remote group work challenging. These findings can be applied to the development of new educational strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustaining operational productivity in the completion of repetitive tasks is critical to many organizations' success. Yet research points to two different work-design-related strategies for accomplishing this goal: specialization to capture the benefits of repetition and variety (i.e., working on different tasks) to keep workers motivated and provide them opportunities to learn. In this paper, we investigate how these two strategies may bring different productivity benefits over time. For our empirical analyses, we use two and a half years of transaction data from a Japanese bank's home loan application-processing line. We find that over the course of a single day, specialization, as compared to variety, is related to improved worker productivity. However, when we examine workers' experience across a number of days, we find that variety helps improve worker productivity. Additionally, we show that part of this benefit results from workers' cumulative experience with changeovers. Our results highlight the need for organizations to transform specialization and variety into mutually reinforcing strategies rather than treating them as mutually exclusive. Overall, our paper identifies new ways to improve operational performance through the effective allocation of work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yamamura E. Effects of interactions among social capital, income and learning from experiences of natural disasters: a case study from Japan, Regional Studies. This paper explores how and the extent to which social capital has an effect on the damage resulting from natural disasters. It also examines whether the experience of a natural disaster affects individual and collective protection against future disasters. There are three major findings. (1) Social capital reduces the damage caused by natural disasters. (2) The risk of a natural disaster makes people more apt to cooperate and, therefore, social capital is more effective to prevent disasters. (3) Income is an important factor for reducing damage, but hardly influences it when the scale of a disaster is small. [image omitted] Yamamura E. L'effet de l'interaction entre le capital social, le revenu, et l'apprentissage des experiences des desastres naturels: etude de cas du Japon, Regional Studies. Cet article cherche a examiner comment et jusqu'a quel point le capital social a un effet sur les degats qui resultent des desastres naturels. On examine aussi si, oui ou non, l'experience d'un desastre naturel touche la protection individuelle et collective contre les desastres futurs. On en a tire trois conclusions importantes. (1) Le capital social reduit les degats dus aux desastres naturels. (2) La menace d'un desastre naturel rend les gens plus susceptibles de cooperer et, par la suite, le capital social s'avere plus efficace pour empecher les desastres. (3) Le revenu est important pour la reduction des degats, mais n'est guere important au moment ou l'echelle du desastre est faible. Capital social Apprentissage Desastre naturel Yamamura E. Die Effekte von Wechselwirkungen zwischen Sozialkapital, Einkommen und Lernen aus den Erfahrungen von Naturkatastrophen: Eine Fallstudie aus Japan, Regional Studies. In diesem Beitrag wird analysiert, wie und in welchem Ausmass sich Sozialkapital auf den Schaden durch Naturkatastrophen auswirkt. Ebenso wird untersucht, ob sich die Erfahrung einer Naturkatastrophe auf den individuellen und kollektiven Schutz vor kunftigen Katastrophen auswirkt. Im Wesentlichen gibt es hierbei drei Ergebnisse. (1) Das Sozialkapital verringert den Schaden durch Naturkatastrophen. (2) Das Risiko einer Naturkatastrophe erhoht die Bereitschaft zur Zusammenarbeit, weshalb das Sozialkapital starker zur Pravention von Katastrophen beitragen kann. (3) Das Einkommen stellt einen wichtigen Faktor zur Verringerung von Schaden dar, hat aber kaum einen Einfluss darauf, wenn der Umfang der Katastrophe gering ausfallt. Sozialkapital Lernen Naturkatastrophen Yamamura E. Efectos de las interacciones entre el capital social, los ingresos y las lecciones aprendidas de desastres naturales: estudio del caso de Japon, Regional Studies. En este articulo analizamos como y en que medida tiene el capital social un efecto en los danos causados por desastres naturales. Tambien examinados si la experiencia de un desastre natural afecta a la proteccion individual y colectiva contra futuros desastres. En general, existen tres resultados principales. (1) El capital social reduce el dano causado por desastres naturales. (2) El riesgo de un desastre natural aumenta la predisposicion de las personas a cooperar y, por tanto, el capital social es mas eficaz para prevenir desastres. (3) Los ingresos representan un factor importante a la hora de reducir los danos pero apenas influyen cuando la escala de un desastre es pequena. Capital social Lecciones Desastre natural [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to examine the learning processes that subjects undertake when they start using gaze as computer input. A 7-day experiment with eight Japanese students was carried out to record novice users' eye movement data during typing of 110 sentences. The experiment revealed that inefficient eye movements was dramatically reduced after only 15-25 sentences of typing, equal to approximately 3-4 h of practice. The performance data fits a general learning model based on the power law of practice. The learning model can be used to estimate further improvements in gaze typing performance. Our experimental results encourage the use of gaze-based interfaces for severely disabled people. This paper provides a taxonomy for gaze actions on dwell time-activated keys and it presents a method by which the learnability of gaze interfaces may be documented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lesson study in Japan, the practice in which teachers work collaboratively and reflectively with colleagues on improving their classroom teaching, has recently attracted attention internationally as an effective means of teachers’ professional development. Although lesson study is very useful for helping new teachers join the profession and for teachers to develop pedagogical knowledge, its effectiveness is less clear when teachers have to understand new epistemologies for new forms of learning and teaching. This paper describes a variation of lesson study, called design study, which takes the concept further to involve teachers and researchers working together as a design team. Specifically it describes the development of an experienced classroom teacher through his participation in a design-based research practice, tracing how he shifted his focus towards epistemological issues and successfully developed new pedagogical content knowledge. The paper describes how such a design-based collaborative study might enrich teacher knowledge, and articulates possible factors that might contribute to it as a successful practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, characteristics of mathematics classrooms in the East Asian countries1 of Hong Kong and Japan are discussed based on an analysis of the data of the TIMSS 1999 Video Study. The data shows that although students in these East Asian countries did not talk a lot in the classroom, they were exposed to more instructional content. The mathematics problems they worked on were set up mainly using mathematical language, and compared with the problems solved by students in other countries, the problems took a longer duration to solve and more proof was involved. According to the judgement of an expert panel on the Hong Kong lessons (Japan did not participate in this part of the study), more advanced contents were covered and the lessons were more coherent. The mathematics presentations were more developed, and the students were more likely to be engaged in the lessons. In sum, the overall quality of the teaching in this East Asian country was judged to be high. The findings show that high quality teaching and learning can take place even in a teacher directed classroom. It is argued that these East Asian classroom practices are deeply rooted in the underlying cultural values of the classroom and the wider society. The paper ends by drawing some implications of the study for the mathematics education community in other cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the interplay between Western conceptions of education and students from other educational traditions, most specifically Japan, through the lens of the author's practice in international education. He examines models of the private and public spheres and public discourse advanced by Hannah Arendt and Jurgen Habermas in relation to the purpose of education, and discusses the transferability of these concepts to cross-cultural contexts, through an analysis of the nature of the public and the private in Japanese society. Finally, the paper urges international educators to take responsibility for the message they send exchange students by providing the mediation necessary to put their exchange experience into the proper context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various conceptualizations of lifelong learning have been developed and various practices of lifelong learning have been identified. This paper introduces several recent conceptualizations of lifelong learning before considering the case for Japan, both in general and through examination of the state of lifelong learning in a rural prefecture and a case study of one lifelong learning programme in a rural city. While the case for the prefecture as a whole mirrors the literature on lifelong learning in Japan, the case study presents four specific characteristics that may direct future development of lifelong learning programmes as well as research: a clearly stated societal objective, a knowledge and skills curriculum, participant accountability, and social visibility and presence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning how to read kuzushiji is the most important skill for studying the history of pre-modern Japan and classical Japanese literature. However, the difficulty of acquiring this skill has prevented both scholars and amateurs from other fields and countries to work on classical Japanese writings. The kuzushiji project is an attempt to provide accessible resources and training on mobile devices for learning kuzushiji, and available for free. KuLA, the learning app we developed, has already been downloaded more than 36,000 times since its release in February 2016. In this paper, we describe our background, aims, and approach of our project, as well as the implementation of KuLA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a central objective, problem-solving skills are important in the mathematics curricula of many countries. However, such skills tend to receive limited and rarely systematic attention in mathematics lessons, including in the Netherlands. To address this gap, the authors adopt a specific approach that defines problem solving as integral to mathematics: Teaching mathematics Through Problem solving (TTP). In Japan, teachers often learn about TTP by performing Lesson Study (LS), an approach in which teachers work in teams to design and conduct a research lesson that allows them to learn collectively about students' learning processes. TTP offers a promising, structured, didactical approach to introducing problem solving in mathematics lessons, and LS appears to represent an effective means for teachers to learn about TTP. To test this proposition, the current study entails a TTP- and LS-based intervention implemented in two secondary schools in the Netherlands, with an explicit focus on problem-solving skills. The central research objective for this study is to determine whether this TTP-LS-intervention helps mathematics teachers incorporate problem-solving skills into their lessons and how design characteristics and mechanisms of the intervention affect the outcomes. Interviews with teachers provide insights into which characteristics of the TTP-LS intervention fostered the implementation of problem solving in their teaching practice, as well as which did not. The collected data show that the teachers regard TTP as a valuable pedagogy to teaching mathematical problem solving. They report that the joint development, implementation, and evaluation of TTP lessons in the LS cycles, and especially observations of students, has given them more tools for applying TTP pedagogy and that they use these tools to promote problem-solving skills. Elements of the TTP lessons that the teachers perceived as difficult were the lesson phases that featured discussions on solution strategies rather than finding the "right" answers. Teachers regarded LS as a suitable approach for learning about TTP. Some points for improvement also emerged from the data. For example, more support should be given to TTP-LS-teams to explain the problem-solving skills they want to target in their lessons, and to practice especially the classroom discussion and summary phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on the book "Metaphors for Learning: Cross-Cultural Perspectives," edited by Erich A. Berendt. It notes that the book delves into the nature and roles of metaphors in learning and that it exceeds the scope of cognitive linguistics. The first part of the book relates the trends in learning the metaphors of the West and of Japan in which one paper concentrates on the history of Japanese metaphor. The third part of the book examines the nature and importance of the metaphor to learning in the classroom.

The author examines the experiences of learning about Japanese elementary education from the perspective of a Canadian teacher. She suggests through a year-long study in a Japanese third grade classroom that the teaching practices and philosophies underlying curricular and pedagogical decisions made by teachers are shaped by the culture and society of which schools are part, such that learning about Japanese schooling highlights the influence of social, societal, cultural, linguistic factors outside, as well as inside, school. In line with narrative inquiry research practices, the author also acknowledges her own stance as a certified elementary level teacher who was educated and certified in Canada, in contributing to shaping her analysis of teacher knowledge of her teacher participants. She argues that the process of learning about schooling in a country or culture different from the one in which an individual was educated and learned to teach, involves immersing oneself into the research context to learn about the experience from the perspective an insider. Realization of the extent to which this expansive interweaving of school and society is apparent in many aspects of schooling in Japan, in turn, reinforces the idea that this interconnection may also underlie schooling in other societies as well, such that one's experiences in one's own culture may form the foundation for understanding and interpreting knowledge gained about schooling in another culture or community. The notion of cross-cultural teacher knowledge, then, may be grounded in personal and professional experience of teaching and being taught in one's own culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major goal of this study is to provide a practical Web application for English word-reordering problems that records and reproduces learners' mouse trajectories. The authors believe that trajectories include useful clues to the nature of learners' processes for solving problems, including any hesitation they may experience in completing a task. In this paper, we will introduce the Web application we have developed so far and discuss ways in which to analyse the recorded mouse trajectories, such as the numbers of U-turns and drag and drops, in relation to the scores and newly incorporated 'degree of confidence' parameter. Empirical findings and statistical, correlation analysis from two experiments will support the conclusion that the mouse trajectories help to reflect learners' understanding more accurately than when their understanding is measured merely by their scores (that is, measured merely by their percentage of correct answers). It is our hope that the system will be applied as a tool for on-site teachers to develop their teaching strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent research, it has been argued that effective professional learning would continue over the long term and is best suited for a school community that promotes learning. This requires an examination of the teachers on a daily basis. In order to develop such a community, it becomes increasingly important for teachers to mutually observe and jointly reflect on practices at the classroom level. Educators in the United States have begun paying close attention to the Japanese tradition of lesson study. This paper aims to discuss the chief findings and issues that have hitherto been raised with respect to research on lesson study and to clarify current progress and limitations in the research in the United States and Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Negotiation of language form is thought to engage learning processes by helping learners to notice gaps in their developing L2 and find target-like ways of filling them. Self-transcription, where learners work together to find language errors in recordings of their own oral output, is an awareness raising exercise that encourages such negotiation. This paper examines the problem-solving efforts of a class of Japanese students as they worked on a transcription exercise in English. It describes the various resources they made use of while tackling L2 problems and considers some of the cognitive processes underlying their decisions. This small-scale study shows how these learners effectively negotiated form while working independently of the teacher. Recordings of their discussions reveal a depth of cognitive processing thought to be beneficial to language development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study investigates narrative stories of a student staff member working at the Self Access Learning Center (the SALC) at Kanda University of International Studies, Japan in order to discover whether / how her working experiences in the SALC have an impact on her identities especially focusing on her development of learner autonomy as agency. Drawing on four layers of narrative positioning (Wortham & Gadsden, 2006), I will explore: 1) the ways that agency is projected; and 2) how the learner's involvement in a SALC impacts on her identities. The examination revealed that the learner's involvement as a student staff member enhanced her agency to access a target community of English in the SALC. Drawing on the Communities of Practice (CoP) framework by Lave & Wenger (1991), I discuss the possibility that gaining voice in the target community might enable a learner to be more autonomous. Finally, this paper addresses the importance of learner involvement in SALCs - not only for the learners involved, but also for other SALC users in order to provide opportunities to activate both agency and autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is much literature on implementing mobile technologies for higher education teaching and learning. Positive statements derived from student surveys about the potential of so–called mobile learning can be read in a number of academic papers and the media. Unfortunately, academic surveys and media commentaries are too often interpreted as evidence of learning. Empirical research reveals otherwise. This paper describes a two–year study of Japanese students using iPods in a communications course during which they accessed and recorded audio podcasts. The results of pre and post standardised tests revealed no significant difference in scores. Moreover, the quantitative data disputes the students' survey statements in both 2008 and 2009 cohorts. It is posited that institutional, academic and media statements of the 'potential' of mobile learning and anytime/anywhere access to information need to be explicitly supported with empirical evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores practical strategies that can be used by university teachers to facilitate student centered, self-regulated learning. My primary objective as a university teacher is to be directly involved in my students This paper explores practical strategies that can be used by university teachers to facilitate student centered, self-regulated learning. My primary objective as a university teacher is to be directly involved in my students This paper explores practical strategies that can be used by university teachers to facilitate student-centered, self-regulated learning. My primary objective as a university teacher is to be directly involved in my students This paper explores practical strategies that can be used by university teachers to facilitate student-centered, self-regulated learning. My primary objective as a university teacher is to be directly involved in my students' efforts by connecting my teaching expertise with their self-regulated learning process. I have developed a strategic alignment model of teaching and learning, which is a practical instructional model that can be applied regardless of the academic discipline. Locating university teaching as a collaborative process of knowledge production between teachers and students, this paper presents an exploratory case wherein the teacher supports his students by providing them with a well-programmed teaching schedule. The students respond to their teacher's efforts by showing a high level of commitment. Ultimately, this paper claims that such collaboration contributes significantly to the creation of a dynamic research culture at a university. efforts by connecting my teaching expertise with their self-regulated learning process. I have developed a strategic alignment model of teaching and learning, which is a practical instructional model that can be applied regardless of the academic discipline. Locating university teaching as a collaborative process of knowledge production between teachers and students, this paper presents an exploratory case wherein the teacher supports his students by providing them with a well-programmed teaching schedule. The students respond to their teacher's efforts by showing a high level of commitment. Ultimately, this paper claims that such collaboration contributes significantly to the creation of a dynamic research culture at a university. efforts by connecting my teaching expertise with their self-regulated learning process. I have developed a strategic alignment model of teaching and learning, which is a practical instructional model that can be applied regardless of the academic discipline. Locating university teaching as a collaborative process of knowledge production between teachers and students, this paper presents an exploratory case wherein the teacher supports his students by providing them with a well-programmed teaching schedule. The students respond to their teacher's efforts by showing a high level of commitment. Ultimately, this paper claims that such collaboration contributes significantly to the creation of a dynamic research culture at a university. efforts by connecting my teaching expertise with their self-regulated learning process. I have developed a strategic alignment model of teaching and learning, which is a practical instructional model that can be applied regardless of the academic discipline. Locating university teaching as a collaborative process of knowledge production between teachers and students, this paper presents an exploratory case wherein the teacher supports his students by providing them with a well-programmed teaching schedule. The students respond to their teacher This paper explores practical strategies that can be used by university teachers to facilitate student-centered, self-regulated learning. My primary objective as a university teacher is to be directly involved in my students' efforts by connecting my teaching expertise with their self-regulated learning process. I have developed a strategic alignment model of teaching and learning, which is a practical instructional model that can be applied regardless of the academic discipline. Locating university teaching as a collaborative process of knowledge production between teachers and students, this paper presents an exploratory case wherein the teacher supports his students by providing them with a well-programmed teaching schedule. The students respond to their teacher's efforts by showing a high level of commitment. Ultimately, this paper claims that such collaboration contributes significantly to the creation of a dynamic research culture at a university. s efforts by showing a high level of commitment. Ultimately, this paper claims that such collaboration contributes significantly to the creation of a dynamic research culture at a university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]