Japan Workshop Research Articles

Development of workshop framework empowering local stakeholders for “place strategy” in a district: An implementation at Omotesando, Tokyo

This research aims to structure the workshop framework ‘empowering local stakeholders to create a “place strategy”’, a spatial planning and management strategy for enhancing place function in a district. This strategy primarily focuses on the team-up phase for stakeholders with human and financial resources, whose mission is to bridge a backcasting vision to the next step involving others and users of the streets. Referring to the ‘link and place’ theory, originally developed in England and adapted to fit the alternative plans suggested by municipal officials at the community level, the paper establishes a toolkit and sessions for the conduct of a community-led workshop in Japan. The prototype workshop was implemented for the place strategy of Omotesando, a mixed land-use district with a famous shopping avenue in Tokyo. The validity of the workshop was examined based on opinion changes and the feedback of participants at each session. The results show that the prototype can draw the participant's consciousness on both the link and place functions, including a perspective on effective bus service. The policy option guides affected the participants' choice of flexible tactics by illustrating the relationship of link and place, which is not necessarily a trade-off.

Organizing spectral hybridity: An ethnography of a sheltered workshop in Japan

Hybrid organizations increasingly play key roles in resolving social challenges by combining multiple logics that are not normally combined. Drawing on ethnographic research of a successful hybrid organization – a sheltered workshop managing both welfare through training disabled individuals and bakery business in Japan – we develop theory on combining hybrid elements differently across subunits, what we call “spectral hybridity”. Spectral hybridity occurs when subunits across the organization adhere to the competing hybrid elements to differing degrees. Specifically, we propose spectral hybridity as sustainable through three practices- compartmentalizing variegated hybrid units, distributing tensions across the subunits, and progressive connection between bipolarity. Spectral hybridity makes welfare and business as a continuum. Our spectral hybridity model reorients research away from focusing on either integration or differentiation approaches or both integration and differentiation approaches to the mutual constitution between connection and differentiation with implications for scholarship on hybrid organizing in social challenge.

Undergraduate students’ learning experiences as part of an online sexuality education workshop in Japan

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate Japanese undergraduate students’ learning experiences as part of an online sexuality education workshop. Design: We employed a qualitative design using in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Setting: The study was conducted at a public university in the Kanto region of Japan. Method: Interviews elicited seven Japanese undergraduate students’ perspectives concerning the format of the online sexuality education course and beliefs about sexual health and behaviours. Interviews were analysed using the constant comparative method. Results: Three themes were identifiable in informants’ responses: (1) benefits of the online education format, (2) importance of sexuality education for students who live alone and (3) learning about abortion. Students’ learning experiences were influenced and shaped by online communication through the sharing of knowledge regarding sexuality, sexual security and sexual health. Conclusion: Although learning took place in a 1-day workshop, there were significant benefits to offering an online sexuality education workshop to Japanese undergraduate students.

Bridging Academics’ Roles in Knowledge Diffusion in Sustainability-Driven Public–Private Partnerships: A Case Study of the SDGs Workshop in Central Japan

This article discusses the role of academics in knowledge diffusion among various stakeholders using a case study of a sustainability-oriented workshop to address issues of a local forest in central Japan. This research employs thematic analysis through interpreted data from documents, minutes of meetings, workshop interactions among stakeholders, debriefing sessions, questionnaires, and fieldwork findings of participants in a regional business school. The findings show that Bridging Academics (BAs) have effectively facilitated knowledge diffusion amongst global, national and local stakeholder clusters. The interactions among workshop stakeholders resulted in outcomes that enhanced awareness of knowledge gaps, fostered effective communication, enabled knowledge extension, and created shared values. The study contributes towards the understanding of academics’ roles in collaborative settings for sustainability and suggests a multi-node knowledge link model as a collaborative mechanism for knowledge diffusion. The study suggests implications for stakeholders and provides a use case relevant to sustainability-based regional development.

The Italy–Japan Workshop: A History of Bilateral Cooperation, Pushing the Boundaries of Robotics

This article presents the experience of a longlasting collaboration in robotics between the countries of Japan and Italy. The diversity of the approaches to robotics research and technology in the two countries and, at the same time, the similarity of some social drives for robotics progress have created a stimulus for generating new thinking about robotics. Not only has this occurred at the main participant institutions of Waseda University in Tokyo and Scuola Superiore Sant?Anna in Pisa, Italy, but it has also happened worldwide. The authors present a summary of the Italy-Japan workshops, exploring topics on 1) humanoid robotics, 2) the application of robotics for exploration and rescue, 3) biorobotics, 4) the use of robots in education, 5) the ethics of robotics, 6) robotics for sports, and 7) robotics for the arts. The experience of the workshops represents an example of an open-minded approach to robotics that is grounded on social challenges, explored through multidisciplinary discussion. Such interdisciplinary research efforts deserve to be shared with the international robotics community. Indeed, this approach could be used as a base model to foster further international collaborations among countries as well.

Conference report on the 1st US–Japan workshop on power and particle control by liquid metal plasma-facing components in a steady state magnetic fusion DEMO reactor

As part of the US–Japan bilateral collaboration program, a new series of workshops have been inaugurated on the subject of ‘Power and Particle Control by Liquid Metal Plasma-Facing Components in a Steady State Magnetic Fusion DEMO Reactor’. The first workshop of this series was held at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory on 11–13 March 2019. This conference report is intended to share 24 technical presentations, discussion and the planning of future workshops with the world magnetic fusion community.

2032. First National Survey of Antimicrobial and Antifungal Stewardship in Japan

BackgroundTo manage antimicrobial resistance, both antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and antifungal stewardship (AFS) are needed. However, limited data show AMS and AFS practices among hospitals in Japan.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional nationwide study using a questionnaire distributed to hospitals that participated in a hospital epidemiology workshop in Japan in July 2018. The questions addressed activities of preauthorization, notification, and intervention within 7 or 28 days about broad-spectrum antibiotics (third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins and piperacillin–tazobactam, carbapenem, intravenous quinolone) and antifungals. Interventions to use broad-spectrum antibiotics and antifungals were compared between large (≥501 beds) and small/medium-sized (≤500 beds) hospitals.ResultsOf 240 hospitals, 39 (16%; 18 large and 21 small/medium-sized) responded. Preauthorization of using broad-spectrum antibiotics and antifungals was found in 4 (10%) and 1 (3%) hospital(s), respectively. Notification of broad-spectrum antibiotics and antifungals was found in 37 (95%) and 2 (5%) hospitals, respectively. The numbers of hospitals that intervened in the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics within 7 and 28 days were 17 (44%) and 34 (87%), respectively; those of antifungals were 3 (8%) and 10 (26%), respectively (Table 1). Interventions to use broad-spectrum antibiotics within 7 days were statistically more frequent in small-/medium-sized hospitals than in large hospitals [13 (61.9%) vs. 4 (22.2%),odds ratio = 5.7, 95% confidence interval = 1.4–23.3, p = 0.023]. All hospitals had less-frequent interventions to use antifungals within 7 days than those for antibiotics[3 (14.3%) vs. 0 (0%)] (Table 2).ConclusionSmall-/middle-sized hospitals had more frequent interventions within 7 days of broad-spectrum antibiotics than those of large hospitals, possibly because small-/medium-sized hospitals are agile and have few barriers against interventions to use broad-spectrum antibiotics. Compared with broad-spectrum antibiotics, interventions of antifungals were less frequently conducted in all hospitals. We need to emphasize the importance of AFS in Japan. Further studies on related factors are needed. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

A “Learning from Action” workshop in Japan

PurposeMany people in severe mentally disturbed states do not use language or other symbolic media well or coherently. Therefore, the non-verbal medium needs to be understood by workers with such people. The “Learning from Action” experiential workshop was developed in order to provide an opportunity to learn about hidden messages in the relationships and roles occurring in activities. In August 2017, a workshop was run for the first time in Japan. The purpose of this paper is to report the experience and dynamics observed by the three consultants, who are here the authors of this paper.Design/methodology/approachAfter the workshop all the staff and members, including interpreters, were invited to give feedback.FindingsAnalysis of the feedback data showed certain important dynamics, concerning especially dependence, cultural defences and the defensive role of activity in a multicultural context.Research limitations/implicationsThis is an initial experience to be followed up by later feedback and further workshops.Practical implicationsWorkers awareness of non-verbal communication within the roles of work activities is a training possibility. It faces various resistances including the mental health assumptions of meaninglessness of any communication outside the verbal.Originality/valueThis is a method of training not widely used even in European countries, and is the first in a country in the far east.

IEEE “Ethically Aligned Design”: Commentary from Inter/Trans-disciplinary workshop in Japan

IEEE “Ethically Aligned Design”: Commentary from Inter/Trans-disciplinary workshop in Japan

Preface to the Focus Section on the Joint Japan–Taiwan–New Zealand National Seismic Hazard Model Collaboration

Since 2014, research groups from Japan, Taiwan, and New Zealand have been collaborating to share research ideas and expertise about topics relevant to the development of national seismic hazard models (NSHMs) in each region. The trilateral collaboration is centered on a series of workshops designed to bring the researchers together. So far, three such meetings have been held: a kick‐off workshop in Taiwan in May 2014, a second workshop in Japan in August 2015, and a third workshop in New Zealand in November 2015. A fourth workshop is planned for late 2016. In this focus section on the joint Japan–Taiwan–New Zealand NSHM, we have collected eight papers that highlight some of the ongoing research that specifically targets improvements in the respective NSHMs.

Human genetic research, race, ethnicity and the labeling of populations: recommendations based on an interdisciplinary workshop in Japan.

BackgroundA challenge in human genome research is how to describe the populations being studied. The use of improper and/or imprecise terms has the potential to both generate and reinforce prejudices and to diminish the clinical value of the research. The issue of population descriptors has not attracted enough academic attention outside North America and Europe. In January 2012, we held a two-day workshop, the first of its kind in Japan, to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue between scholars in the humanities, social sciences, medical sciences, and genetics to begin an ongoing discussion of the social and ethical issues associated with population descriptors.DiscussionThrough the interdisciplinary dialogue, we confirmed that the issue of race, ethnicity and genetic research has not been extensively discussed in certain Asian communities and other regions. We have found, for example, the continued use of the problematic term, “Mongoloid” or continental terms such as “European,” “African,” and “Asian,” as population descriptors in genetic studies. We, therefore, introduce guidelines for reporting human genetic studies aimed at scientists and researchers in these regions.ConclusionWe need to anticipate the various potential social and ethical problems entailed in population descriptors. Scientists have a social responsibility to convey their research findings outside of their communities as accurately as possible, and to consider how the public may perceive and respond to the descriptors that appear in research papers and media articles.

A Lesson Study Approach to Improving a Biology Lesson

Lesson Study is a collaborative, cyclical and continuing professional development process, aiming at improving a lesson through critical reflection. This research is based on three cycles of Lesson Study conducted during a four-week workshop in Japan for 10 South African mathematics and science educators. A sub-group developed and refined a high school biology lesson on the blood circulatory system. The final goal of the process was to present the improved lesson in a real biology classroom in a Japanese high school. Two questions are explored in this research, ‘As the Lesson Study cycles are repeated, how does the focus of the discussion change and to what extent does the quality of reflection in terms of insight and substance increase?’, and ‘In what way, if at all, does the discussion contribute to the improvement of the lesson?’ In this research, we analysed the transcripts of three post-lesson discussions, one for each cycle of Lesson Study. The results indicate that both the focus of discussion and the quality of reflection changed depending on social context, hierarchical power relations among participants, and the perceived purpose of the session. Moreover, they show how certain comments contributed directly to improvements to the lesson. The results are discussed in the light of the theoretical conceptualisation of reflection used to analyse the data. We make some practical proposals as to how to enhance educators' participation in team lesson planning and improvement.

The neuroscience–systems biology disconnect: towards the NeuroPhysiome

This set of reports were first presented as talks in two ‘Featured Topic’ symposia at the Experimental Biology (EB) meeting in April 2011 in Washington DC, USA. These two symposia grew out of an earlier US–Japan Brain Research Cooperative Program Workshop held at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) in October 2010. The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Japanese Science and Technology Agency (JST) jointly sponsored this OIST workshop to initiate and explore opportunities at the interface of neuroscience and systems biology, with the intention of follow-up meetings such as the present symposia. The OIST US–Japan workshop was organized by Dr Bruce Lindsey (University of South Florida, FL, USA) and the authors together with Erik DeSchutter (OIST, Onna, Japan). The OIST US–Japan workshop had two main themes, which then became the titles of the two aforementioned EB Featured Topics symposia: Multi-scale Modeling and Systems Biology of Synapses, chaired by James Schwaber, and Multi-scale Neuronal Control of Respiratory Function: Bridging Gene Networks to Neural Networks, chaired by Kendall Morris. At our previous OIST workshop, we concluded that we had ‘made a start’ on these issues, and during the EB Featured Topic sessions we continued discussing and presenting bridging opportunities in methods and approaches that are applicable in systems biology practice and neuroscience. Specifically, the symposia examined how modelling of molecular processes can provide a foundation for understanding adaptive electrical behaviour of neurons, and how unbiased global data can be useful in deciding which receptors, channels and transmitters need to be considered in a simplified schematic of a functional neuronal group. The apparent disconnect between computational neuroscience and systems biology has been observed previously and discussed at length in an article by Dr De Schutter, a featured presenter in the systems biology symposium (De Schutter, 2008). Commonly, computational neuroscience focuses on membrane models of different transmitter–receptor interactions and the effects of modulators (serotonin, etc.) on synaptic transmission and their impact on network behaviour, while systems biology focuses more deeply on signalling and genetic processes. Despite the conspicuous connections between neuronal membrane composition, signalling and gene expression, there is little bridging of this gap. The workshop was concerned with the commonalities between multiscale modelling of molecular processes and neuronal systems physiology. Our aim was to explore how robust function emerges from complex, plastic processes by combining computational neuroscience and the systems biology of functional, adaptive molecular processes. In order to consider these and related issues, the OIST US–Japan workshop, and now the two EB Featured Topic symposia, were organized around the following two ‘focal points’.

P1-456 A case-control study to detect genetic and acquired risk factors for paediatric inflammatory bowel disease

IntoductionPaediatric inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD) is considered to be a multifactorial disease with both genetic and acquired factors involved in its aetiology. The acquired factors include lifestyles and environmental factors...

PAGES regional workshop in Japan

PAGES regional workshop in Japan

An Analytical Study of the Small Scale Common Workshop in Japan and Its Issues to Korea

An Analytical Study of the Small Scale Common Workshop in Japan and Its Issues to Korea

プレフィルッド・シリンジ Japan Workshop 2008 講演会報告

プレフィルッド・シリンジ Japan Workshop 2008 講演会報告

Mechanics in naturally compliant structures

In this study the mechanics of compliant structures (very light weight structures which do not have bending capability but have axial stiffness (tension)) in particular to spider web has been studied. The orb-web spider has evolved over the last 180 million years [Lin, L.H., Edmonds, D.T., Vollrath, F., 1995. Structural engineering of an orb-spider’s web. Nature 373, 146–148]. This long period of evolution has produced the present spider web, an elegant, natural, lightweight structure to efficiently resist different loads such as wind, insect impact, etc. It can function as a net for catching prey even if any element is broken. Nature has accomplished these tasks by optimizing its form of construction, and by making spider silk a biopolymer with superior elasticity and tensile strength. It is believed that spider webs are the most efficient structures engineered by nature. In this study it is tried to find why spider webs are so efficient. A FE model of an ideal spider web has been created using the FEMAP pre- and post-processing software, and analyzed using the ABAQUS non-linear FE code. Both the static and dynamic problems have been considered, and also the numerical and experimental techniques have been used. It has been tried to look at how stress is redistributed in the face of damage and how the loss of elements affects the dynamic response of the web and how the vibration due to insect impact is damp out. Finally the numerical simulations have been compared to physical experiments. In lieu of actual spider webs, artificial nets have been examined and its 1st natural frequencies for different cases have been measured by laser vibrometer. A FE model of the net has also been created in FEMAP and analyzed by ABAQUS. In both analyses, the same elements have been removed systematically from the center and the 1st natural frequencies have been determined. Prediction matches well with experiment. The results of this study may be used in light structures like cable-stayed bridges [Masura, M., Yokoyama, K., Toshio, M., 1989. Wind-induced cable vibration of cable-stayed bridges in Japan. In: Proceedings of Canada–Japan Workshop on Bridge Aerodynamics, Ottawa, pp. 101–110; Yoshimura, T., Inoue, A., Kaji, K.K., Savage, M.S., 1989. A study on the aerodynamic stability of the Aratsu Bridge. In: Proceedings of Canada–Japan Workshop on Bridge Aerodynamics, Ottawa, pp. 41–50] and space structures.

The 10th Game-Programming Workshop in Japan 2005

The 10th Game-Programming Workshop in Japan 2005

1st DIA Annual Japan Workshop for Pharmacogenomics in Tokyo

The Drug Information Association academia at the meeting; Tohru Masui (DIA)-sponsored First Annual Japan Workshop for Pharmacogenomics (PGx) was held on September 2 and 3, 2004, at Shinjuku in Tokyo, Japan [101]. This was one of the two workshops started in 2004 together with regulatory affairs (Figure 1). This workshop, which was also organized in collaboration with the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS), provided a platform to introduce the activities of the CIOMS Working Group on Pharmacogenetics (CIOMS PGt WG), which was established in 2002 [102]. In addition, general trends and the regulatory and ethical aspects of PGx in the USA, Europe, Asia and Japan were reported and discussed. This report summarizes the outline of the workshop and the individual topics that were presented. Although presentations of the findings of basic and clinical research were also reported, this paper refers only to the regulatory, ethical and social dimensions of PGx.