Passing Encounters East and West: Comparing Japanese and American Pedestrian Interactions

This study examined the microinteractions of pedestrians in Japan and in the United States as they walked past a confederate. Specifically, the effects of culture, condition (avoid, look-only, and look plus smile) and sex of confederate on glances, smiles, nods, and greetings by passing pedestrians were examined in a field study on over 1000 participants. The hypotheses of (1) lower responsiveness in Japanese pedestrians than in American pedestrians and (2) increased responsiveness as a function of condition were supported in a series of log-linear analyses of pedestrian glances, smiles, nods, and greetings. Both of these main effects were, however, qualified by Culture X Condition interactions on smiles, nods, and greetings, with the large condition effects present in the American pedestrians, but absent in the Japanese pedestrians. The results are discussed in terms of the functions of glances, smiles, nods, and greetings in these brief encounters and how differing cultural norms affect Japanese and American responsiveness. Finally, the limitations of this study and the broader utility of this research paradigm are discussed.

Spatial pattern changes of grazing cattle population I

Summary A cattle population presents three spatial patterns according to their behaviour. These patterns are as follows: the random spatial pattern which occurs when the cattle move during grazing (feeding), the aggregated spatial pattern which occurs when they rest, and the regular or quasi-regular spatial pattern which occurs when they separate into two or more subgroups. In this study, these three states of behaviour were represented by a mathematical model, and a method to test the pattern statistically was derived.     

Cultures of Aspiration and Poverty? Aspirational Inequalities in Northeast and Southern Thailand

The paper provides micro-level evidence of rising inequality in Thailand, using data from an intensive study of seven communities in Northeast and Southern Thailand. This inequality affects participants’ material and subjective wellbeing, their aspirations, and the extent to which they feel these are realised. The paper argues that adaptation, expressed as reduced aspirations, could explain why the effect of material poverty on people’s satisfaction with their lives is small. The reduction in attainment of aspirations linked to socio-economic status suggests that a small, but constant group of people are being excluded from a shift in the societal consensus over what constitutes a good life.     

Succession of Stem Families in Rural Japan: Cases in Yamanashi Prefecture

The aim of this paper is to clarify how Japanese rural families have continued and changed from a viewpoint of generational succession. The survey from which data was collected was conducted principally in Yamanashi prefecture, Japan. Three main points will be focussed on: members, property, and ideology. Almost 40% of family members surveyed continued to live together with their parents after marriage. However, they did not necessarily succeed the family farm. The ways in which they live together and farm their land have become more diverse. It is still very common for the entire family property to be inherited and succeeded by only one child in accordance with the Ie system. Despite the fact that family structure is changing greatly in present times, many farming families continue to adopt this system of inheritance. Ideologies concerning ceremonial matters and human relationships remain strong, but have weakened with regard to land inheritance. Our results suggest that the family's desire for succession was stronger in cases where multiple generations cohabited.     

Experimental studies on the distribution of the aphid counts

Summary The present paper dealt with the sequential changes of the distribution pattern of apterous females aphid populations, that were artificially settled at the beginning on the experimental barley ‘field’. The aphids were settled at random or even with a fixed denisty per plant. For five or six days after the settling, the number of individuals followed the negative binomial distributions in all cases while the parametersk andp were varying. The estimated values ofk were rather small for the first one week after the settling, which may suggest that the number of moving aphids between plants was relatively small and the degree of concentration expressing the intrinsic increase was high. After that, as the number of individuals increased, the number of moving aphids between plants would be considered to be increased. It was found that with the lapse of time the degree of concentration decreased ork became larger. The distribution of aphids per blade in a plant was also described briefly.     

The Japanese version of the Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire: a study in dental technicians

To test the psychometric properties and criterion validity of the Japanese version of the EffortReward Imbalance (ERI) Questionnaire (Siegrist, 1996), a survey was conducted among 105 male dental technicians. The Japanese version of the questionnaire was developed through a backtranslation process. Internal consistency and factorial structure were tested and the criterion validity with respect to musculoskeletal symptoms was estimated with the help of a correlation matrix and logistic regression analysis. In psychometric terms, the factorial structure of the scales measuring the components of the theoretical concept was replicated satisfactorily, and internal consistencies of the scales measuring the extrinsic and intrinsic components of the model were appropriate. Significant associations between components of the ERI and musculoskeletal symptoms were found. Logistic regression analysis revealed a significantly elevated risk of musculoskeletal symptoms in participants scoring high on the scale measuring the model's intrinsic component, 'overcommitment'. This study indicates that, at least for the occupational group under study, the Japanese version of the ERI Questionnaire is a feasible and psychometrically well justified new measure for assessing psychosocial stress at work with relevance to health.     

The Japanese version of the Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire: A study in dental technicians

To test the psychometric properties and criterion validity of the Japanese version of the EffortReward Imbalance (ERI) Questionnaire (Siegrist, 1996), a survey was conducted among 105 male dental technicians. The Japanese version of the questionnaire was developed through a backtranslation process. Internal consistency and factorial structure were tested and the criterion validity with respect to musculoskeletal symptoms was estimated with the help of a correlation matrix and logistic regression analysis. In psychometric terms, the factorial structure of the scales measuring the components of the theoretical concept was replicated satisfactorily, and internal consistencies of the scales measuring the extrinsic and intrinsic components of the model were appropriate. Significant associations between components of the ERI and musculoskeletal symptoms were found. Logistic regression analysis revealed a significantly elevated risk of musculoskeletal symptoms in participants scoring high on the scale measuring the model's intrinsic component, 'overcommitment'. This study indicates that, at least for the occupational group under study, the Japanese version of the ERI Questionnaire is a feasible and psychometrically well justified new measure for assessing psychosocial stress at work with relevance to health.     

A Lifecourse Study of Stem Family Women in Rural Japan: A Comparison of the Changes over Three Generations

Abstract  The aim of this study is to clarify the changes in the lifecourses of rural stem family women, and how they are influenced by society and the family. Our lifecourses are characterized by the sequence of events in our lifetime. Women's lifecourses are mainly influenced and varied by the experiences of marriage, childbirth and childcare.
We used the event of marriage as the basis for finding how the lifecourses of three generations of women had changed. The Mother generation (MI refers to the parent; the Wife generation (W) refers to the child; and the Grandchild generations are the daughters (F) and Son's Wives (SW).
Our findings revealed that the Agriculture Continuation type lifecourse had decreased with each generation. About 80% of (MI women helped on the family farm before marrying into another farming family, while this type no longer existed in the grandchild generations. The (W) women were the first to start working in various jobs (outside the farm) after graduating from their last schooling, but they usually quit their jobs after marriage. Many (SW) women followed this same pattern. Many (F) women also worked outside the farm after their last schooling, then became full-time housewives after marriage. Few women in the grandchild generation worked in agriculture when they were young.
The lifecourses of (M) and (W) women followed basically a fixed pattern, but began to diversify for the grandchild generations, as their order of life events also diversified. Correlation and changes were found between society and individuals.     

A distance measure of spatial pattern in a biological population

Summary Suppose thatn individuals locate independently and randomly on a segment of line of finite length (habitat). Let the theoretical and observed ranges of the sites of the individuals on the segment be μ _n-1 andr _n-1, respectively. Then, the degree of dispersion of the individual sites is measured by the ratio, T _n =n _n-1/μ _n-1, as follows: A random spatial pattern forI _r−1 =1 An aggregated spatial pattern for 0≤I _r <1 A uniform spatial pattern for (n+1)/(n−1)≥I _r >1. Another method was derived. Let the probability that an observed range is less thanr _n−1 beI _p , under the hypothesis of a Beta distribution. Then indicates A random spatial pattern forI _p =1/2 An aggregated spatial pattern forI _p <1/2 A uniform spatial pattern forI _p >1/2. The first index can be used for comparing populations having the same number of individuals, whereas the second one can be used for comparing populations with different numbers of individuals.