Risk Management across the Globe: Insights from a Comparative Look at Sweden, Japan, and the United States

In light of the present day risk controversies such as global warming and hormones in beef, partially caused by a more globalized world, national differences and similarities in how to manage risks become increasingly important. In this brief "perspective" we focus on how risks are managed in three nations, namely Japan, Sweden, and the United States, specifically focusing on the roles of deliberation, risk analysis, and the importance of cultural factors.     

Partition of a query set into minimal number of subsets having consecutive retrieval property

This paper is concerned with information retrieval. The basic problem is how to store large masses of data in such a way that whenever information regarding some particular aspect of the data is needed, such information is easily and efficiently retrieved. Work in this field is thus very important for organizations dealing with large classes of data.The consecutive retrieval (C-R) property defined by S.P. Ghosh is an important relation between a set of queries and a set of records. Its existence enables the design of information retrieval system with a minimal search time and no redundant storage in that the records can be organized in such a way that those pertinent to any query are stored in consecutive storage locations. The C-R property, however, can not exist between every arbitrary query set and every record set.A subset of the query set Q having the C-R property is called a C-R subset and a C-R subset having the maximum cardinality is called the maximal C-R subset. A partition of Q is called the C-R partition if every subset has the C-R property. A C-R partition with minimum number of subsets is called the minimal C-R partition. With respect to the set of all binary queries and the set of all binary records, it is shown that the maximal cardinality of a C-R subset is 2l-1 where l is the number of attributes concerned. A combinatorial characterization of a maximal C-R subset is also given. A lower bound on the number of subsets in a C-R partition and several examples which attain the lower bound are given. A general procedure for obtaining a minimal C-R partition which attains the lower bound is given provided the number of attributes is even.     

Cooperation Versus Confrontation: A Comparison of Approaches to Environmental Risk Management in Japan and the United States1

This paper compares approaches to environmental risk management in Japan and the United States. The paper includes an historical examination of two case studies of environmental risk management: synthetic detergents and lead in gasoline. In addition, the paper discusses several important differences between Japan and the United States, including (a) different attitudes toward separating environmental risk management from environmental risk assessment, and (b) different approaches toward environmental risk management. Specifically, the Japanese approach is based largely on a cooperative model of risk management, with a strong emphasis on negotiation and consensus-building, while the U.S. approach is based largely on a confrontational model of risk management, with a strong emphasis on rigorous scientific analysis and open adverserial processes.     

The Risk Screening for Indoor Air Pollution Chemicals in Japan

In recent years, public health problems caused by indoor air pollution have been drawing strong public concern in Japan. After conducting extensive exposure assessment, governmental agencies have taken effective measures to solve the problem; for instance, "Guidelines for indoor air quality (IAQ)" of 13 chemicals, for example, formaldehyde, toluene, and xylene, has been established. Thousands of chemicals have been identified in the indoor environment. Priority rating of those chemicals, however, was not based on the health risk level. We developed a risk-screening scheme for indoor air pollution chemicals and analyzed the current status of the risk levels of those chemicals in Japan. We researched scientific knowledge of health hazards and exposure surveys of indoor air pollution chemicals in Japan, and classified those chemicals based on the health risk level estimated from the scheme. The risk levels of 93 chemicals were characterized and six chemicals (formaldehyde, acrolein, 1,4-dichlorobenzene, benzene, tetrachloroethylene, and benzo(a)pyrene) were classified in the highest risk category.     

Influence of Maternal Social Communication on Ticklishness in Infants: A Comparison With Being Stroked

The tickle sensation is considered to arise from physiological and social factors. Previous research reports that although infants laugh in response to tactile stimulation in first 6 months of life, they cease laughing to this stimulation as they grow. Because older children often appear to laugh in response to tickling, the current study focused on relationships between infants’ response to tickling and social factors as they grow. Specifically, we examined effects of different maternal social interactions on infants’ reactions to tickling vs. stroking tactile stimulations. Results showed that a tickle stimulus, together with maternal communications, elicits positive reactions in infants. In contrast, a noncommunicative mother and stroking tends to elicit from the child a neutral response, whereas the combination of a noncommunicative mother with tickling evokes negative reactions in infants. These findings suggest that maternal social communication affects infants’ reactions to touch. In addition, the combination of tactile and social stimulations elicits laughter in infants over 6 months of age.     

周易与原始儒学

对中国近 2 0多年间陆续出土的文献性资料的研究 ,已经成为当前中国古代文化研究的重要方面。文章旨在就有关出土文献资料研究上的方法论问题 ,诸如新出土文献资料的分类及其与通行文献资料的关系、“疑古”思潮与对通行文献的本文批判和高级批判等问题做一些考察。同时 ,通过对通行本《周易》与马王堆《帛书周易》的对比分析 ,具体讨论《周易》与原始儒学的关系 ,以及儒学早期发展的历史和《周易》哲学的诞生等问题。     

Institutional Incentives and Trust: Marginalized Groups and the Creation of Trust in Local Government*

Objectives. There is an important theoretical debate concerning whether institutional trust can be created. Since very few governments actually try to promote trust directly, it has been difficult to test this debate empirically. To investigate this debate, we examine an innovative new program in Japan that is specifically designed to promote trust in institutions—community currencies. Methods. We use propensity score matching to determine if community currency program participation in Japan increases institutional trust. Results. We find that participation increases institutional trust. Additionally, we find that supporters of political parties with little political power receive a greater impact from program participation. Conclusions. These results show that institutional trust can be increased by participation in incentive programs of cooperation, and suggest that members of marginalized groups will benefit more from program participation.     

论老庄的"自然"——兼论中国哲学"自然"思想的发生与展开

"自然"及由此经营出的思索,一直是中国思想史上最重要的主题之一,阐明老庄的自然、王充的<论衡>中的自然、魏晋玄学的自然,就能保证中国的"自然"不只局限在中国思想史的内部,而能够更好的展开和发展,成为一个有建设性意义的问题.