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These rings showcase materials foraged within one bioregion; a region described by natural features rather than human-made borders. As response to the insensitivity of globalised supply chains our work intends to draw sensitivity to the local richness of place. A distinguishing characteristic of these uncommon design materials is their relationship to time. Sandstone and coal form geologically over millions of years, while sea sponges grow in seasonal cycles. Meanwhile, driftwood and waste marine plastic highlight the spectrum of properties across natural and artificial categories, as well as the permeability of earthen spaces as constantly shifting material ecologies. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Polylactic Acid Chain 2 is the shorter of two oversize sculptural necklaces made entirely from polylactic acid (PLA) polymer plastic in two forms: 3D printed virgin PLA bead collars and recycled PLA beads, the latter materials made from waste PLA obtained from makerspaces around Sydney. The work contrasts the two forms of plastic, advocates for creative circular approaches to material use and critical engages with the ongoing problem of plastic waste, systems and infrastructure. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This research investigates place-based making and experimental design practices in the field of contemporary jewellery as methods for embodying sensory connections to the land. Motivated by the proliferation of globalised materials, such as concrete and petrochemical plastics, that contribute to a sense of placelessness, this project is focussed on enhancing perceptions and knowledge of local materials foraged from the landscape. Constructing jewellery with materials local to Sydney, such as sandstone, coal and oyster shells, attends to social, cultural and temporal issues in terms of both historical and contemporary applications of materials when making jewellery. Drawing on the work of critical place-based designers and contemporary jewellers from Australia, New Zealand and Europe, I situate my practice in the field of experimental sustainable design. Informed by Shinto design traditions that honour materials within my Japanese heritage, I explore ideas for ecologically engaged critical making. The theoretical concepts of correspondence and textility presented by Tim Ingold then frame the creation of objects that explore the relationship between the maker, the material world and the sensory experience of wearing jewellery on the body. Sarah Pink’s methodology of sensory ethnography is used to examine aesthetic connections to local environments that emerge through the place-based method of bioregional foraging. The sensorial qualities of the jewellery series developed for this Master of Fine Arts practice-based research were critically considered to instrumentalise the naturally porous and activated surfaces of raw and unfinished materials. The works seek to enhance human connection to such materials and create embodied understandings of their local ecologies.

This study investigates how students perceive self and the circumstances when writing a graduation thesis, and also the relationship between positive cognitions and mental health. Thirty-one university students who were writing graduation theses were administered a questionnaire six months before the deadline and again one month before it. Students perceived themselves more emotionally unbalanced and more incapable, but more positive about their attitudes concerning their graduation theses than their classmates did. To perceive themselves more optimistic, strong-willed, and emotionally balanced was negatively correlated with feelings of depression in writing a graduation thesis. With regard to cognition about circumstances, they were more aware of the deadline and the progress of the graduation thesis one month before the deadline, and such awareness correlated with feelings of depression. From the analysis of their free descriptions, both enjoyment and suffering in writing a graduation thesis were abstract six months before the deadline, and they got both enjoyment and suffering in the concrete process of writing a graduation thesis and giving meaning to the results of their research one month before the deadline. The enjoyment and suffering in writing a graduation thesis were inextricably linked with each other.

The purpose of this study is to investigate a difference of positive cognitions in various stressful events that have different severities in different fields. Two hundred and sixty-five college students answered a questionnaire. They were presented 12 imaginary stressful events, and were asked to answer about event's severity and reality, whether the events were actually experienced, and how positively they thought about themselves and their situation at that time (positive cognitions scale, 12 items) for each event. According to a factor analysis of the positive cognitions scale, two factors were found: controllability and positive cognitions by comparison. Controllability was perceived in severer stressful events. The appearance of controllability in stressful events was more remarkable among those who had actually experienced stressful events than those who had not. Positive cognitions by comparison remarkably appeared among stressful events about their study and job, and they were more remarkable among those who had actually experienced stressful events than those who had not, in severer stressful events. The results suggest that when stressful events are actually experienced, more positive cognitions may appear, regardless of the event's severity.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between social support and self-perception in crisis. College students (N=265) were administered a questionnaire. They were asked to answer the subject of their crisis, their self-perception, and received social support from their friends and family members. According to a factor analysis of the self-perception scale, two factors were found: stable self and active self. Social support received from their friends was divided by factor analysis into emotional support and instrumental support. Social support received from their family members was divided by factor analysis into emotional support, instrumental support, and routine support. In such crises as taking an examination and choosing their courses of study, emotional support from families was positively correlated with active self. In such crises as human relations and love affairs, though, emotional support from families was negatively correlated with active and stable self, but instrumental support from friends positively correlated with active self. These results suggest that the relationship between social support and self-perception in crisis differs with contents of crisis, because friends and family members take various roles in various crises.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between positive illusions and mental health in writing a graduation thesis. Forty-three college students who were writing a graduation thesis were administered a questionnaire. They were asked to answer in the questionnaire views on their future course, the importance of their writing the graduation thesis, their self-rating relative with their classmates, cognition of writing the graduation thesis, and their own level of depression by using a depression scale. Factor analysis of the self-rating scale found two factors: active self and optimistic self. Cognition of writing the graduation thesis was divided by factor analysis into positive cognition and negative cognition of writing the graduation thesis. Their scores were used as an index of the appearance of positive illusions. The results indicated that positive illusions of an active self appeared remarkably in the students who wanted to go on to postgraduate school. However, positive illusions of an optimistic self did not appear in the students who wanted to go on to postgraduate school nor those of self-recognition in the students who wanted to find a job. Each index of positive illusions is negatively correlated with depression. These results suggest the importance of positive illusions in writing a graduation thesis.

The present study investigates the effects of motives for continuing education at a university and the positive self-belief on coping with five stressful events (future course, scholastic achievement, human relations, money, and health) in student life. One hundred and twenty-one graduate and undergraduate students participated in the study in which a questionnaire method was used. Motives for continuing education at a university were divided by a factor analysis into 1) advice from family, teachers and peers, 2) psycho-social moratorium, and 3) improvement of abilities. It was found that positive self-belief has a single factor structure. A structural equation modeling applied to the complete data suggests that passive motives ("advice from family, teachers and peers" and "psycho-social moratorium") are negatively correlated with positive self-belief while active motives (improvement of abilities) are positively correlated with positive self-belief, which in turn has a positive correlation with positive coping with stressful events. The most important suggestion is that the motives for continuing education at a university does not directly affect coping processes with stressful events in student life. This shows that some positive self-beliefs intervene.

A Clinical statistic survey was carried out on the patients, diseases, and the treatments undertaken at the Ward of Department of Urology, Kyoto University Hospital during the years of 1985 to 1988.

This study investigates how students perceive self and the circumstances when writing a graduation thesis, and also the relationship between positive cognitions and mental health. Thirty-one university students who were writing graduation theses were administered a questionnaire six months before the deadline and again one month before it. Students perceived themselves more emotionally unbalanced and more incapable, but more positive about their attitudes concerning their graduation theses than their classmates did. To perceive themselves more optimistic, strong-willed, and emotionally balanced was negatively correlated with feelings of depression in writing a graduation thesis. With regard to cognition about circumstances, they were more aware of the deadline and the progress of the graduation thesis one month before the deadline, and such awareness correlated with feelings of depression. From the analysis of their free descriptions, both enjoyment and suffering in writing a graduation thesis were abstract six months before the deadline, and they got both enjoyment and suffering in the concrete process of writing a graduation thesis and giving meaning to the results of their research one month before the deadline. The enjoyment and suffering in writing a graduation thesis were inextricably linked with each other.

The purpose of this study is to investigate a difference of positive cognitions in various stressful events that have different severities in different fields. Two hundred and sixty-five college students answered a questionnaire. They were presented 12 imaginary stressful events, and were asked to answer about event's severity and reality, whether the events were actually experienced, and how positively they thought about themselves and their situation at that time (positive cognitions scale, 12 items) for each event. According to a factor analysis of the positive cognitions scale, two factors were found: controllability and positive cognitions by comparison. Controllability was perceived in severer stressful events. The appearance of controllability in stressful events was more remarkable among those who had actually experienced stressful events than those who had not. Positive cognitions by comparison remarkably appeared among stressful events about their study and job, and they were more remarkable among those who had actually experienced stressful events than those who had not, in severer stressful events. The results suggest that when stressful events are actually experienced, more positive cognitions may appear, regardless of the event's severity.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between social support and self-perception in crisis. College students (N=265) were administered a questionnaire. They were asked to answer the subject of their crisis, their self-perception, and received social support from their friends and family members. According to a factor analysis of the self-perception scale, two factors were found: stable self and active self. Social support received from their friends was divided by factor analysis into emotional support and instrumental support. Social support received from their family members was divided by factor analysis into emotional support, instrumental support, and routine support. In such crises as taking an examination and choosing their courses of study, emotional support from families was positively correlated with active self. In such crises as human relations and love affairs, though, emotional support from families was negatively correlated with active and stable self, but instrumental support from friends positively correlated with active self. These results suggest that the relationship between social support and self-perception in crisis differs with contents of crisis, because friends and family members take various roles in various crises.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between positive illusions and mental health in writing a graduation thesis. Forty-three college students who were writing a graduation thesis were administered a questionnaire. They were asked to answer in the questionnaire views on their future course, the importance of their writing the graduation thesis, their self-rating relative with their classmates, cognition of writing the graduation thesis, and their own level of depression by using a depression scale. Factor analysis of the self-rating scale found two factors: active self and optimistic self. Cognition of writing the graduation thesis was divided by factor analysis into positive cognition and negative cognition of writing the graduation thesis. Their scores were used as an index of the appearance of positive illusions. The results indicated that positive illusions of an active self appeared remarkably in the students who wanted to go on to postgraduate school. However, positive illusions of an optimistic self did not appear in the students who wanted to go on to postgraduate school nor those of self-recognition in the students who wanted to find a job. Each index of positive illusions is negatively correlated with depression. These results suggest the importance of positive illusions in writing a graduation thesis.