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Information about several events organized at the 16th Workshop on Logic, Language, Information and Computation (WoLLIC 2009) that was held in Tokyo, Japan from June 21-24, 2009 is presented. The workshop featured several invitation talks by computation experts and mathematicians including Arnold Beckmann, Thomas Eiter, and Carsten Lutz.

This paper looks at the performance of drunkenness among primarily male patrons at a bar in an upscale Tokyo neighborhood. I look at how my experience working as a bartender and observing the drunken, sober, and sometimes performative behavior of customers initially clashed with my preconceptions of gender norms surrounding alcohol consumption—specifically the notion that to properly perform as a male drinker one must be able to ‘hold one’s liquor’ and drink heavily but not become excessively intoxicated. Instead, my fieldwork reveals a different framework, in which men who embody characteristics of strong, dominant masculinity refuse offers to consume alcohol. Extrapolated to a broader level of analysis, I argue that an anthropology of alcohol in Japan and elsewhere must emphasize sometimes contradictory ethnographic evidence to highlight the cultural complexity of alcohol and its consumption or refusal. In short, an over-reliance on past conclusions pertaining to the role of drinking and drunkenness in Japan has concealed the cultural intricacies behind shifting norms of acceptance or refusals to imbibe. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores the consequences of Japan's refugee policy for Burmese refugees living in Tokyo by examining refugees' livelihoods and responses to the immigration/refugee legal system. It begins with a description of Japan's legal framework as it pertains to immigrants and refugees, then examines four elements of refugees' livelihoods in Tokyo: employment, housing, health care and education. Tokyo's urban environment enables Burmese refugees from all backgrounds to generate income and make a living. Finding a place to live is possible with the help of the Burmese community, both legal and illegal. Education is only partially successful, but will prove more challenging as the refugee population grows. The present system is woefully inadequate to meet the health needs of asylum seekers. While refugees manage adequately, this is largely due to the Burmese community's strength and to some extent the response of Japanese civil society in the form of volunteer organizations. This success is in spite of Japan's rusty immigration and refugee system, which, slow to recognize that its temporary population is gradually becoming more permanent, is in need of more than a cosmetic makeover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at the U.S.-Japan Joint Conference on Arthropod-borne Plant Viruses that was held in Tokyo, Japan is presented. The aim of the conference was to have the direct exchange of information on the interactions between viruses and arthropods. The symposium featured several biologists including Paul W. Oman, Karl Maramorosch, and Teikichi Fukushi.

Information about several papers discussed at a seminar on insect and snail cells is presented. The seminar titled "Invertebrate Tissue Culture: Applications in Fundamental Research," was held in Tokyo, Japan during December 9-13, 1974. The conference inquired into the diverse areas of basic science linked by the common tool: the in vitro cultivation of tissues and cells of invertebrate animals.

The International Committee of Dermatology met in Tokyo, Japan, in April, 1979 to examine the site and to discuss the organization and scientific aspects of the XVI International Congress of Dermatology. The committee members were highly impressed by the facilities demonstrated to them and the advanced planning and preliminary organization already performed by the Japanese organization committee. A committee for extracongressional matters was created which is to present thoughts on international actions for mutual help in dermatology.

The Tokyo Grain Exchange (TGE)'s itayose mechanism provides the opportunity to analyze functioning Walrasian tâtonnement auctions (WTA). In 15,677 auctions conducted over 1997-1998 for corn and redbean futures contracts, price formation is unexpectedly similar to that observed in continuous double auctions. Provisional prices and pledges are informative. In contrast to behavior observed in experiments, few pledges are deceptive, because the traders participate repeatedly and because the auctioneer has flexibility when changing the provisional price and ending the auction. Both the risk of the auction ending and the more equitable dispersion of information increase depth and the speed at which information is embodied in price. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information related to dermatology. The next meeting of the Netherlands Association of Dermatology and Venereology will be held in the Dermatological Department of Leiden University on February 21, 1981. The 1st European Congress of Dermocosmetology will be held May 19-21, 1981. Topics include: structure and function of the stratum corneum, skin culture techniques, free communications and the exploration of the surface of the skin. On the occasion of the XVI International Congress of Dermatology in Tokyo, Japan, the Alfred Marchionini Prize founded in 1966 will again be awarded.

The housing landscape of Tokyo has shifted dramatically from a housing shortage immediately after World War II, to an urban sprawl driven by the ‘salaried men’s dream’ of a single-family home, to the more recent popularity of high-rise living. Tokyo as a global megacity provides a distinctive picture given its density, culture and changing economic fortunes in the postwar period. This article draws on qualitative research conducted in Tokyo among home-owning families over three generations, exploring the links between housing and family relations in the context of changing housing and labour markets. The article provides two housing ‘narratives’ highlighting different experiences and strategies of families over generations. These narratives not only capture key elements of socio-economic change in Japan since the end of the War, but also illustrate the contrasting experiences of different families, particularly in relation to the interaction between housing and employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented exploring the production of the play "Doctor Faustus," written by Christopher Marlow and directed by Ninagawa Yukio at the Theatre Cocoon in Tokyo, Japan. While attributes of both Japanese and English drama have been evident in the theatrical setting, the Japanese actors involved in the play have given a problematic performance. Indicators that the play seemed resistant to its intercultural adaptation are cited, with emphasis on some attempts made to deconstruct hell.

The article presents a study which examines the association between fat area and complications of open gastrectomy. The study enrolled 135 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy at the Cancer Institute Hospital in Tokyo, Japan. Total fat area consisting of visceral and subcutaneous fat and body mass index were evaluated and correlated with the complications. Results show that only the visceral fat area correlated with mortality, intra-abdominal infection, and longer hospital stay.

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Organizations exist in a differentiated spatial ecology generated by past foundings and failures and affecting important organizational and individual outcomes. While ecological theory has traditionally emphasized the temporal evolution of organizational populations, this article considers their spatial evolution. Theories of spatial contagion, competition, and density dependence are used to make competing predictions on how geographically delineated subpopulations grow and interact with neighboring subpopulations. The hypotheses are tested on data from the early history of banking in Tokyo, with findings supportive of density dependence within areas and among neighboring areas. This suggests that the spatial evolution of organizational populations is a promising new area for ecological research, with opportunities for better understanding the theoretical and practical problems of spatial clustering and the boundaries of organizational populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the relationship between living in an urban area and the alcohol-consumption habits of young mothers in light of the recent increase of the female drinking population in Japan, particularly among those from 20 to 39 years of age. We conducted a survey in four areas in and around Tokyo, each area representing a different level of urbanization. The study population consisted of 6418 mothers of 3-year-old children; an 84.9% response rate was obtained. Thirty-eight per cent of the respondents had drunk at least four units of alcohol (about 44 g of pure ethanol) during the most recent month The proportion of current drinkers in a more-urbanized area was greater than that in a less-urbanized area, and this tendency was significant (P<0.001). Current workforce participation was significantly positively associated with current drinking (P<0.01). Younger age significantly increased chances of current drinking (P<0.05) Effects of living in a more-urbanized area on current drinking of mothers of 3-year-old children after excluding the effects of workforce participation and age was significantly positive (P<0.001). An increase in female drinking in Japan was considered to be due to acculturation associated with urbanization in a post-industrial society. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports on the research on the efficacy of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) in treating patients with end-state kidney disease (ESKD) in Tokyo, Japan. Researchers found that HIF can improve the long-term survival of patients who undergone kidney transplant because it preconditions the donated kidney. Moreover, HIF can coordinate the activation of various protective genes and protection against their initial injury.

The article presents information on several meetings of societies and associations related to biological sciences. The "International Symposium on Animal Toxins" will be held on April 8-11, 1966 at the Dennis Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The "Eleventh Pacific Science Congress" of the Pacific Science Association will be held from August 22, 1966 in Tokyo, Japan, for a period of three weeks. A conference on the preservation of natural areas, in conjunction with the 16th Annual Meeting of U.S. Nature Conservancy, was held at the Buffalo Museum of Science in Buffalo, New York on September 11, 1965.

Investigates the behavior of intra-day trades and quotes for individual stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Japan. Comparison of TSE with other principal equity markets; Trading procedures on the TSE; Transaction prices on the TSE; Difference between warning and special quotes.

The article discusses the painting "Woman Weaving" from a series of five prints, entitled Fujin tewaza ayatsuri kagami (Women's Handicrafts: models of dexterity) from the artist Kitigawa Utamaro. As stated, the polychrome image is an ukiyo-e or 'painting of the floatingworld' in which the artist depicts the daily lives of the wives and daughters of affluent merchant-class from Tokyo, Japan. The article also presents information on the life history of the artist and also his work.

Discusses the Tokyo Medieval Manuscript Reading Group's 1996 project called 'Electronic Corpus of Diplomatic Parallel Manuscript Texts as a Tool for Historical Studies of English.' Development of a parallel edition of the 'Ancrene Wisse' manuscripts; Ways in which the parallel text follows the foliation and lineation of MS Corpus or Cleopatra.