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Agricultural fields in university campuses can improve urban nutrition security, increase greenery, and provide opportunities for students to grow crops and enhance self-management skills. We conducted student surveys among freshmen in two different years (2016 and 2020) to understand their willingness to pay (WTP) for donations toward student-led agricultural activities. In order to mitigate the social desirability bias, we also asked students’ inferred WTP and compared that with conventional WTP. We found that inferred values could determine more conservative and realistic estimations of students’ donations than conventional WTP. Full model regression analysis using logit model estimation showed that students’ interest and engagement in pro-environmental behaviors increased WTP for student-led agricultural activities. In conclusion, such projects are economically feasible through student donations.

PurposeThis study was conducted to understand students' achievements in learning and to improve the overall curriculum of the first-year experience course.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, a series of questionnaire-based surveys were conducted on students enrolled in the Introductory Seminar for Policy Science, a mandatory first-year experience course offered in the first semester (from April to July) at a university in Japan. The studies were conducted in 2015 (n = 29), 2016 (n = 29) and 2017 (n = 31).FindingsResults revealed that, regardless of the year, students deepened their understanding of policy science and gained increased confidence to explain what group works and reports are throughout the semester. In addition, students' level of worry about life at the university decreased throughout the course in all three years. A stepwise multiple regression analysis (n = 84) revealed that those students who knew what policy science was (B = 0.271) and had the confidence to write their opinions in reports (B = 0.264) more likely answered that they knew what they wanted to study over four years at the university.Originality/valueThis study revealed that the mandatory first-year experience course taught by the same instructor generated similar educational effects for different students in different years. The results elucidated the progressive effects of different components of the course, eliminating possibilities of any bias or specific characteristics of a single group of students.

There is an urgent need to implement sustainable plastic use and disposal to prevent further negative consequences. As they involve human behavior, intervention measures for inducing individual human behavioral changes toward this implementation are essential. While studies and good practices are rapidly increasing in this regard, it is not sufficient for policymakers. There is no guarantee that good practice in one place will be equally good in another context. Therefore, policymakers require appropriate guidance to choose suitable intervention measures for their context. This study proposes a behavioral barrier-based framework (BBBF) to aid policymakers in selecting context-appropriate intervention measures. The BBBF is built on the assumption that certain barriers can prevent people from making desirable behavioral changes. The BBBF helps policymakers choose suitable intervention measures for lowering the barriers that inhibit desirable sustainable plastic use and disposal-related behaviors. The framework includes a generic list of barriers derived from possible intervention measures that integrate market-based, regulatory, and behavioral approaches to expedite the identification of critical barriers and corresponding intervention measures. Local stakeholders are involved in the whole process to reflect contextuality and to elicit context-specific intervention measures, desirable behavioral measures, and their barriers. The BBBF was developed and tested through its application in Kyoto City, Japan. This BBBF application included 1000 citizens, two focus groups, 14 businesses, and three city officials connected to the issue, and identified fifteen intervention measures and three barrier types to induce 16 desirable behavioral changes for achieving Kyoto City's four established policy targets. Also see: https://micro2022.sciencesconf.org/427731/document, In MICRO 2022, Online Atlas Edition: Plastic Pollution from MACRO to nano

Offshore manmade structures, termed artificial reefs (e.g., wind farms, oil platforms, and manmade islands), affect the movement and migration of wild migratory marine animals. Certain types of migratory pelagic and benthic fish are known to utilize artificial reefs as feeding areas, for spatial reference (landmarks for their navigation), or as meeting points. However, little is known about the impact of artificial reefs on the migratory behavior of demersal flatfish. The marbled flounder (Pseudopleuronectes yokohamae), an important commercial flatfish species, exhibits seasonal migration between shallow water for spawning in winter and deeper water to avoid high water temperatures in summer. In this study, 39 tagged marbled flounders were released in the shallow water of the inner Osaka Bay area in June 2016, and then actively tracked, predominantly in deeper waters (100–140 m), from a fishing boat every week until mid-September 2016. Our active tracking detected no tagged fish in the deeper waters, whereas 36% of the fish were detected in the shallow water (10–15 m) around an artificial reef (offshore manmade island) at a high water temperature (26 °C). We suggest that a portion of the marbled flounder population did not show seasonal migration but remained in the shallow water around the artificial reef, even though the water temperature was high in summer. We suggest that this is related to the abundant food supply associated with the artificial reef.

One of the main challenges for the elderly is insufficient lower limb strength during sit-to-stand movement, which may be improved by supporting the joint externally. Existing lower extremity exoskeletons use perfect revolute joints as knee joints, which do not match with human joint biomechanics. They also require a complex control system to produce the required torque at the corresponding joint angle. In this study, a knee support device using four-bar joint mechanism and hydraulic artificial muscle (HAM) was designed. A previously proposed four-bar linkage joint was modified to accommodate the HAM. In addition, the Angled Bar was proposed to exploit HAM’s force-contraction relationship to generate the desired torque at the corresponding angle only by applying constant hydraulic pressure without the use of a complex control system. The device was able to generate a maximum output of 126.55 Nm torque at 100$$^{\circ }$$∘ knee joint angle during loading and 70.69 Nm torque at 100$$^{\circ }$$∘ during unloading at 3 MPa pressure. The root-mean-square error of the knee extension torque curve was 13.01 Nm. Experiment with a healthy participant showed significant reduction in muscle activity with the assist from the device. The maximum processed EMG signal with and without assist were 52.10 and 20.93 $${\upmu \mathrm{V}}$$μV, respectively.

Evaluation of an outdoor education program is generally based on questionnaires or evaluator observations, which require considerable manpower and time. Therefore, assuming that the gaze information of learners such as an object of attention and fixation time can be used for educational evaluation, we propose the method that detects the learners' head orientation during a learning activity to use the parameter which input gaze estimation system using detected head orientation. This can be achieved by sequentially calculating the position and posture of a small camera mounted on each learner’s head using a Structure from Motion (SfM) system. Besides, to match the features of key points extracted from stationary objects, this method also requires background images. The experimental results are obtained from a video recording of the actual field, a part of which is used to extract 16 input images. Furthermore, 781 input background images of the stationary objects in the educational field were captured after the learning activity was completed. We observed that among the 16 head-mounted camera images extracted every second, nine showed errors in a range of less than 7.13 degrees.

The McKibben pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM) is a promising soft actuator featuring flexibility, light weight, and high power. However, to realize high-precision control with such soft actuators and achieve human-like, autonomous, and natural behavioral control, both actuation techniques and sensing technologies require development to make the most of their features. In this regard, McKibben PAMs contain a drawback rooted in the nonlinear mechanical properties of their soft materials, as frictional anisotropy triggered upon PAM actuation between its fibers and the tubes causes hysteresis. Therefore, because the length of PAM is not uniquely determined by the applied pressure, it is generally necessary to install a sensor device (such as a laser displacement meter) for measuring the length in addition to the platform. In this study, we propose a scheme that can estimate a PAM’s length using applied pressure and its internal dynamics in real time, making use of the machine learning technique called reservoir computing. We show that estimation can be performed with significantly high accuracy. We subsequently demonstrate that the proposed approach is robust against drastic and immediate changes in platform conditions, and can be adapted dynamically to real-time change. We expect this approach can replace the functionality of the laser displacement meter, freeing the platform from mechanical constraints and leading to the realization of a simpler soft actuator capable of sensing using soft material dynamics.

Sustainable management of coastal areas including their natural resources cannot be effectively implemented without the continued involvement of residents who are knowledgeable about the value of conservation. Carrying out long‐term conservation education programs and monitoring the impacts of such program in terms of changing people's awareness and behaviors are critical for conservation to be meaningful and sustainable. This research focused on a marine conservation education program (MCEP) offered at a junior high school in Japan that included collaboration with local fishermen. We aimed to reveal how such continuous and collaborative education program including field experience may change students' awareness and behaviors after several years. We conducted interviews with student participants, comparing their perceptions of when they were first‐graders and third‐graders, and with recent program graduates to understand their perception of the program and knowledge about the local environment. We also conducted surveys with parents and teachers at the junior high school to understand the impacts of the program. A series of studies revealed that the MCEP not only changed students' awareness and behaviors but also affected their parents and teachers.

A method to improve quality of life of elderly people is to increase muscle strength. The purpose of this study is to develop a machine to improve muscle strength effectively. In this paper, we proposed a muscle strength training machine that exerts variable resistance using pneumatic artificial rubber muscle. In addition, we observed the effect on muscle activity by using the proposed machine with predictable and unpredictable load change patterns. Experimental results showed that there was a difference between the rising time of muscle activity and the maximum amplitude of electromyogram depending on predictability of the load change and showed the possibility of effective muscle strength improvement against unpredictable load using the arm curl machine.

Sound management of social-ecological systems should reflect diverse values; otherwise, the systems may inadvertently lead to neither fair nor desirable states. Relational values are one of three primary value domains of these diverse values. Since they may strongly motivate care for nature, nurturing these values could be a useful management measure for people involved in management (e.g., policy makers and nonprofit organizations) to realize a desirable state of social-ecological systems. To test this hypothesis, we studied ocean literacy programs at a district junior high school in Hinase District, Okayama, Japan. The district is known as a Satoumi (Japanese coastal socio-ecological production landscape). First, we measured the significance of relational values in the district. Second, we assessed the effect of the ocean literacy programs on cultivating relational values. Third, to test the feasibility of the ocean literacy programs as management measures to cultivate relational values, we used a contingent valuation method, developed in environmental economics, to measure residents’ willingness to support the programs. Our study reveals that relational values are a critical component of Satoumi. Students are promising supporters of Satoumi given the declining and aging population of guardians, a result of the decline in revenues from fishery; moreover, the programs cultivate relational values in students. Residents support the ocean literacy programs, and their willingness to pay for them is connected with relational values. Therefore, ocean literacy can be an effective and feasible management measure for sustaining Satoumi through cultivation of relational values.

In many coastal areas of Japan, local fishermen manage fish and other marine resources in a sustainable manner. Such areas are referred to as Satoumi. In this study, we focused on Hinase Ju...

Social-ecological system (SES) management requires targets to move in a desirable direction. However, setting targets at the outset of a management program is challenging. People representing the demand side are not always aware of the benefits of nature that are desirable. Simultaneously, managers–who represent the supply side–have limited scientific information. Therefore, we propose an adaptive SES management matrix (ASESMM) using soft targets that are temporary and hypothetical because such targets cannot be fixed at the outset. By compiling both demand- and supply-side perspectives, the ASESMM helps managers choose feasible and desirable management practices. Ecosystem services’ (ESs) classifications were adopted to capture the benefits and used as soft targets that can change over time. This ASESMM was developed by applying it to a Japanese coastal zone in consultation with the relevant stakeholders to maintain its practical value. A narrative analysis substantiated the lack of peoples’ recognition of nature’s benefits and the influence of ES information on that recognition. It also substantiated the comprehensiveness of the ESs’ classifications. Moreover, the application revealed its usefulness for realizing satoumi, a Japanese concept of social-ecological production seascapes, as it might help managers enhance synergies as well as minimize the trade-offs associated with prioritized ESs. Although it was applied to a seascape in this study, the ASESMM can be applied to any SES management site in general, including landscapes.

To sustainably manage coastal areas and conserve coastal biodiversity, the participation of local residents and other stakeholders is indispensable. In the coastal areas of the Satoumi in Japan, where biodiversity and production have increased through human involvement, participatory management has become an urgent matter because of a reduced number of fishermen. Previous studies have identified that people's sense of place could affect their willingness to conserve the coastal area. Meanwhile, intergenerational equity—the relationship between current and future generations in terms of sustainably utilizing natural resources—has become an important component of environmental ethics. We conducted a survey in two study sites in Japan to understand how local residents' sense of place could affect their attitudes towards future generations regarding conserving coastal biodiversity. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that the conceptual framework of sense of place, which is well tested in Western countries, had validity and reliability in a different cultural setting (Japan). Moreover, SEM showed that the Biophysical variable (e.g., “I think it is good to have coastal area biodiversity”) had the strongest effect on residents' attitudes towards future generations, meaning respondents who agreed with biophysical statements, such as those who had positive attitudes towards biodiversity more likely wanted to preserve the coast for future generations. However, in one study site, the Political-economic variable (e.g., “I am willing to invest my time and effort to make the coastal area a better place”) had a negative effect on residents' attitudes towards future generations, meaning those respondents who had willingness to engage in certain behaviors at the moment were less likely to want to preserve the area for future generations. Our results provide instructive insights for promoting people's attitudes towards future generations in terms of coastal area conservation. For example, environmental education programs could focus on increasing residents' interest in the biological features of the coastal areas, which in turn would foster a willingness to conserve these areas for future generations.

Human dimensions of wildlife management (HDW) is an academic discipline founded and developed in the USA. HDW could be explained simply as a practical science for implementing wildlife management utilizing a social science approach. HDW aims to realize effective wildlife management practices by reflecting the needs and opinions of citizens and stakeholders into the adopted policies. The significance of HDW is that it enables managers to increase fairness, balance, and legitimacy in the decision-making process by including stakeholder’ needs and opinions. HDW has begun to be recognized outside of North America, particularly in Europe and Africa; however, it remains a relatively new field, struggling to be accepted as an academic discipline. Meanwhile, HDW is currently not well known in many Asian countries. I establish here the importance of adopting these methods in Asian countries and the reasons behind their hesitancy for doing so.

Wildlife issues are often said to be global/international issues, and wildlife professionals require a global understanding of these challenges. This chapter first explains the potential of the human dimensions approach in solving human-wildlife conflicts, both in Asia and worldwide. Issues facing Japan such as aging and depopulation will soon be issues that many countries around the world will be forced to address. Studying how human dimensions research could mitigate human-wildlife conflicts in Japan and Asia may hence bear insights that may be applicable elsewhere. In that sense, Japan and other Asian countries could become model cases for introducing human dimensions approaches into wider management strategies aimed at solving human-wildlife conflicts. The second part of the chapter introduces case studies in which the human dimensions approach was used for research into participatory coastal management. The concept of “citizen science” is also introduced, including an explanation of how it could potentially be utilized for better community-based wildlife management.

In fishing villages in Japan, a maritime nation, depopulation and the super aging phenomenon are proceeding rapidly, which is an unprecedentedly serious situation. To consider conservation and maintenance of coastal zones as not only an issue for fishermen, who account for 0.2% of the Japanese population, but an issue for all Japanese people, it might be effective to socially realize the concept of Satoumi, by aiming to cooperate with local residents. The Japanese term, Satoumi, refers to coastal zones that have sound bioproductivity and biodiversity through human activities, which are composed of five elements. Three factors support the conservation and revitalization of coastal zones: material circulation, ecosystems, and communication. The other two facilitate the realization of Satoumi: the field of activities and the executors of this activity.

Japan is known for having high biodiversity, with more than 90,000 confirmed animal species, and is listed as one of the 34 “biodiversity hotspots” of the world. From the end of the 1800s to the 1970s, wildlife management focused primarily on “conservation,” owing to the fact that most of the major wildlife species were overhunted during that period in Japan. However, thanks to wildlife conservation laws and efforts, species such as wild boar and deer have increased their populations rapidly and have expanded their ranges broadly. Research regarding wildlife management traditionally has been considered as a field of natural science in Japan. Social studies regarding wildlife management conducted in Japan have three primary features: (1) most of these social studies have been conducted because of increasing damage caused by wildlife, (2) a number of these studies have not necessarily followed or utilized findings from human dimensions studies in other parts of the world, and (3) and most of the studies have been published only in Japanese, which has made it nearly impossible for others outside of Japan to understand the social aspects of any studies regarding wildlife management in this country.

Faced with numerous environmental concerns, such as deforestation, desertification, and overfishing, human beings have begun to realize that there is no such thing as “unlimited resources” and that we must live sustainably if we intend to continue calling planet Earth our home. With this in mind, conservation of the natural environment and its biodiversity has become a globally shared goal over the last few decades, as shown in the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and Sustainable Development Goals, etc. Wildlife have been hunted historically for food, fur, and other uses and are sometimes overhunted to extinction (such as the passenger pigeon [Ectopistes migratorius] and the dodo [Raphus cucullatus]). Large carnivores, like Japanese wolves (Canis lupus hodophilax), have been seen by man as a threat to human lives or livestock and have been hunted to extinction for this reason in many countries around the world. On the other hand, researchers in ecologically based academic disciplines have compiled data and provided evidence that each species on Earth plays a specific role in its ecosystem and constitutes a vital part of the biodiversity within. Many countries have set forth laws restricting the overhunting of species, creating policies not only to conserve threatened species but threatened ecosystems as well. Establishing national parks and/or preservation areas has been thought of as an effective approach to conserving natural environments, and many countries have taken this approach. As of 2016, Japan had established 34 national parks covering about 1% of the total land in the country.

This chapter explains how conducting human dimensions studies has contributed to improved wildlife management in Japan. The chapter begins with an explanation of the meaning and significance of human dimensions studies, e.g., how anecdotal assumptions shared among stakeholders could be tested scientifically using a human dimensions approach. There follows an examination of useful tools and ideas for exposing wildlife issues and displaying research results (wildlife acceptance capacity, social psychological theories, the Potential for Conflict Index, and the logic model). The second part of the chapter discusses aspects to be considered when conducting human dimensions studies in specific cultural and social settings. Section 6.2.1 explains the significance of conducting research in collaboration with local stakeholders and governments. The final part of the chapter considers the respective strengths of qualitative and quantitative studies.