‘I hope one more flower will bloom in my life’: retelling the stories of being homeless in Japan through narrative inquiry

Once becoming homeless, people confront various challenges. Despite hardships in their lives, the voices of people who are homeless are often silenced in society and the multiplicity of their experiences are undermined. To recognize the impact of homelessness from their understandings of life, the study reports in-depth conversations with people who are homeless in Japan. Through the qualitative research methodology of narrative inquiry, I engaged in a close relationship with three men who are/were homeless and inquired into their experiences of being homeless. From our conversations, four narrative threads emerged; (1) living with memories of loss, (2) feeling of being without control, (3) feeling discouraged from weaving forward-looking stories, and (4) nourishing generosity amidst unexpected life circumstances. Considering these narrative threads, we highlight the diversity in the experiences of becoming/being homeless in Japan embodied by the stories of three men. We put forward recommendations for future practice and knowledge development to support people who are homeless.     

日本电子企业扭亏 索尼领衔，松下跟进

索尼公司近日宣称,由于电视和视频游戏业务的好转,索尼在今年第二季度的利润达到257亿日元。 索尼的首席财务官表示,索尼公司“继续展开攻势”的时候到了,因为种种迹象显示,全球经济的复苏正在将这个日本电子工业巨人彻底拉出长期萧条的泥潭。     

Current State and Issues Surrounding Construction of an Independent Support Network for Child Abuse Victims Over 18 Years Old in Japan

This study aims to briefly explain the current child abuse laws as they relate to 18‐year‐old child abuse victims in Japan who are no longer minors, but not yet adults. It explains the gap in services during this transitional period and presents the results of a survey, distributed to 275 facilities, requesting information about this problem. It also examines the status of current support systems available to help these transitional abuse victims, who are on the verge of becoming adults, in establishing lives independent of their parents; and give some suggestions to improve the support system.     

Changing Italian Families in the Era of Fertility Decline

Abstract:  Over the past few decades, in examining the social causes of low fertility in advanced societies, sociologists and demographers have shown increasing interest in southern European countries. Italy has been recognized as one of these countries plagued by lowest-low fertility. In general, the literature has depicted certain characteristics of Italian families as possible causes of fertility decline. This article examines the situation of contemporary Italian families and intergenerational relationships from a sociological point of view, particularly in comparison with Japanese families. It has sometimes been argued that strong familism characterizes Italian families and society. According to this view, one of the causes of fertility decline in Italy is the continuity of strong families. Empirical data suggest, however, that this familism perspective cannot explain the differences in family patterns observed among Italian regions. In addition, a comparison between Italy and Japan with respect to intergenerational relationships suggests that there are substantial differences between the two countries. It is suggested that a further exploration of the various aspects of social contexts is needed in order to clarify what is distinctive about contemporary Italian families.     

Young People’s Reactions Change Elderly People’s Generativity and Narratives: The Effects of Intergenerational Interaction on the Elderly

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the young listener’s reaction on the development of generativity and narratives of elderly people. Thirty-four males between the ages of 60 and 82 participated in this experiment in which the listener generations (young/elderly) and listener reactions (empathic/neutral) were controlled. The participants shared and taught their wisdom gained from their past experiences through narratives. Results showed that many elderly people spoke about “lessons from experiences of failure” when there was an empathic reaction from young people, and such narratives were promoted by an increase of generativity. These results suggested the impact of the younger people’s reaction on the elderly people’s psychological development and behavior.     

Challenges to Successful Community-based Integrated Approach to Dementia: A Qualitative Study

The aim of this study is to identify key challenges to successful community-based integrated team approach to the management of older adults with dementia. A nationwide community-based qualitative research strategy was applied. We purposively recruited 24 health-care providers and 13 family caregivers from selected 8 prefectures among 47 prefectures. Face to face interviews were conducted from May to September 2017. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. Ten themes regarding the challenges were emerged: Ignored wishes, Family caregivers’ full responsibilities, Encouragement, Practical and easy-to-understand information, Essential skills of dementia diagnosis and assessment, Gratitude by helping others, Difference between being kind and overly-kind, Legal barrier against information sharing, Coordination between volunteers and clients, and Conflict avoidance in multidisciplinary collaboration. The findings highlight the need to provide practical and easy-to-understand information for family caregivers, educate physicians in dementia diagnosis and assessment, share personal dementia care information among health-care providers, promote platforms which aim to match dementia care volunteers with older adults with dementia and their families in need of help, and raise awareness of advance care planning among both older individuals and health-care providers.     

Intergenerational interaction between old and young in creative task

By comparing intergenerational to same-generation interactions in creative activities, we aimed to reveal characteristic behaviors of older and younger adults in intergenerational interactions using a wooden block task. Four categories (“Proposal request”, “New proposal”, “Reactions to proposal”, “Assessments of partner’s behavior”) were extracted from conversations during task performance. In intergenerational groups, the ratio of utterances of “Proposal request” (encouraging a new proposal to partner) were higher than in same-generation groups for older adults. In intergenerational groups, older people assumed the role of encouraging younger people to suggest new ideas, and older people’s such empathic behaviors might provoke lively arguments.     

日本经济的尴尬

每天，在东京小田吉（Odakyu）的百货商店里，衣着得体的“电梯女孩”都在笑容满面地问候进出电梯的顾客。休息时，她们还要继续练习问候的技巧、精心整理衣饰和妆容。     

Well–Being Among Older Adults on Different Continents

Old age represents a new frontier. The number of older people is increasing throughout the world. This changing demography affects individuals, but also families, communities and societies. The focus of this issue is the well–being of older adults on different continents. Scientists from around the world address this issue using a wide array of research designs and methodologies to provide a broad perspective on aging. Five topics are considered: Well–Being Among Older Adults; Social Support; Functional Status, Well–Being and Successful Aging; Cross–Cultural Approaches to the Study of Aging; and Research Perspectives in Aging. This issue clearly demonstrates that scientists have much to contribute to the goal of optimizing the experience of aging and creating a society for all ages.