ABSTRACT In this study, the learning experiences of four elementary school teachers who were basketball coaches were explored. Specifically, the learning experiences gained through observing professional basketball coaches’ sessions were examined by employing van Manen’s hermeneutic-phenomenological approach, which focuses on the thematic analysis of lived experiences. Previous coaching studies that have focused on the professional development of coaches have revealed that observing elite coaching sessions could be a major source of practical coaching knowledge because coaches could learn from experienced coaches. (...) Quantitative studies of this learning effect have revealed that observers learn new coaching methods from a general perspective. However, this study revealed that teachers give specific meaning and value to observed phenomena from the perspective of personal interest based on their coaching or teaching beliefs. This learning was interpreted from a multifaceted perspective, which was evident from their coaching interests and questions. This study disclosed that teachers reflect on their coaching philosophy, methods and attitude. Furthermore, even if teachers generally tend to highlight their coaching methods, this has a qualitatively complex nature because the meaning and value given to coaching methods varied in each teacher’s reflection. The perspective of problem-solving highlighted how to answer their personal questions based on practical coaching problems by observing a coaching session. Discovering the methodological differences between the observation session and the daily coaching session were highlighted. (shrink)

This article discusses common ethical and practical considerations in psychosocial and behavioral research in healthcare. Issues such as appropriate objectives and intent, risk-benefit ratios, research design, and human subject protection are explored. The burden of ethical research design and implementation is placed on the investigator, rather than relying solely on institutional review boards to judge individual projects. The benefit of acquisition of knowledge must be balanced against the burdens of the research on society in general and human subjects specifically. Scientific (...) replication of research is encouraged, unnecessary duplication defined and discouraged, and benefits of true collaboration outlined. Investigators are advised to consider the context, intent, purpose, implementation, and use of information when developing research. The concept of “researcher myopia” is defined as a common stumbling block. It is suggested that academic researchers also look to other disciplines, such as industry, for examples of research that is concise, cost-effective, and reliable. (shrink)

Several studies have shown that our visual system may construct a “summary statistical representation” over groups of visual objects. Although there is a general understanding that human observers can accurately represent sets of a variety of features, many questions on how summary statistics, such as an average, are computed remain unanswered. This study investigated sampling properties of visual information used by human observers to extract two types of summary statistics of item sets, average and variance. We presented three models of (...) ideal observers to extract the summary statistics: a global sampling model without sampling noise, global sampling model with sampling noise, and limited sampling model. We compared the performance of an ideal observer of each model with that of human observers using statistical efficiency analysis. Results suggest that summary statistics of items in a set may be computed without representing individual items, which makes it possible to discard the limited sampling account. Moreover, the extraction of summary statistics may not necessarily require the representation of individual objects with focused attention when the sets of items are larger than 4. (shrink)

Estrogen receptor α (ERα) is a ligand‐dependent transcription factor that regulates the expression of estrogen‐responsive genes. Approximately 70% of patients with breast cancer are ERα positive. Estrogen stimulates cancer cell proliferation and contributes to tumor progression. Endocrine therapies, which suppress the ERα signaling pathway, significantly improve the prognosis of patients with breast cancer. However, the development of de novo or acquired endocrine therapy resistance remains a barrier to breast cancer treatment. Therefore, understanding the regulatory mechanisms of ERα is essential to (...) overcome the resistance to treatment. This review focuses on the regulation of ERα expression, including copy number variation, epigenetic regulation, transcriptional regulation, and stability, as well as functions from the point of view post‐translational modifications. (shrink)

科学が自然を破壊した今、人間は人工的に反人工的な自然を保持するべく努力しなければなりません。科学技術は、この逆説に耐え抜かねばならないのでしょう。.

The impact of _Harukanaru Sanga ni_ upon its publication in 1947 was immediate and dramatic- -the impetus, many have argued, for a post-war peace movement in Japan that has lasted over half a century. Now the text is available for the first time in English as _In the Far Away Mountains and Rivers_, a heart-wrenching and thought-provoking collection of letters, journal entries, and essays written by University of Tokyo students as they were drafted to fight in World War II. Many (...) of these students faced certain death as pilots in the kamikaze squads. Many of them deplored the war, and many were simply motivated by a sense of duty to their families and their country. They turned to poetry, philosophy, and religion—all in an attempt to make sense of the universal tragedy of war. (shrink)

The subject of Western environmental ethics has been widely written about and discussed but the same can not be said of 'Japanese' environmental ethics. This discipline has not been covered in any branch of Japanese philosophy nor has there been sufficient pressure exerted by ecologists on Japanese thinkers and writers to explain how the Japanese code addresses environmental concerns. Although some Japanese scholars have in the past articulated their ideas on working with the natural world, the field covering the spirit (...) and core of Japanese environmental ethics remains largely unexplored. This paper examines and compares the discipline of Japanese environmental ethics, a 'bottom up process', with that of the Western model, a 'top down process'. It defines, and presents a new insight into environmental ethics from the Japanese perspective where the concept of 'living with nature' is more sensitive towards the environment than is the Western one of 'taming nature'. (shrink)

This work examines Japanese government policies that impact on the environment in order to determine whether they incorporate a sufficient ethical substance. In the enquiry into the ethics of the policies, Kagawa-Fox explores how Western philosophers combined their theories to develop a 'Western environmental ethics code'; she also reveals the existence of a unique 'Japanese environmental ethics code' built on Japan's cultural traditions, religious practices, and empirical experiences. The discovery of the distinctive Japanese code is not only important for what (...) it discloses as a new philosophy, but most importantly how it can be used to analyse the ethical framework of the Japanese policies. In spite of the positive contributions that Japan has shown towards the global environment, the government has failed to show a corresponding moral obligation to the world ecology in its global environmental policy. The policies examined in the three case studies comprising whaling, nuclear energy, and forestry, have also been found wanting in ecological ethical considerations, both from a Western and Japanese perspective. The main reason for this is that the integrity of the policies has been compromised by Japanese vested interest groups; business and political interests ensure that the policies are primarily focused on maintaining sustainable economic growth. Whilst Japan's global environmental policy initiatives are the key to its economic survival into the 21st century, and these initiatives may achieve their aim, they do however fail the Japanese code of environmental ethics."--Publisher's description. (shrink)

This special issue explores the significance of collectivism in modern and contemporary Japanese art. Japanese artists banded together throughout the twentieth century to work in collectives, reflecting and influencing each evolution of their culture. Illuminating the interplay between individual and community throughout Japan’s tumultuous century, the contributors to this issue examine both the practical internal operations of the collectives and the art that they produced. One contributor studies the art societies of prewar imperial Japan, whose juried art salons defined a (...) new _nihonga_ painting tradition. While recent scholarly work on art produced during World War II has tended to neglect the collectivist tradition, this issue covers wartime groups like the Art Unit for Promoting the Munitions Industry and the important questions they pose about the relationship between artists and the state. Art collectives in post-occupation Japan gained prominence working in the experimental vanguard of the global art scene in painting, sculpture, design, and intermedia projects. Adding a crucial dimension to the study of Japanese art and modernism, this issue explores how these groups attempted to accommodate the creative paradox of individualism within collectivism. _Contributors: Maki Kaneko, Kuroda Raiji, John Szostak, Miwako Tezuka, Ming Tiampo, Reiko Tomii, Alicia Volk, Midori Yoshimoto Reiko Tomii_ is an independent art historian and curator in New York. She is coauthor of _Xu Bing_. _Midori Yoshimoto_ is Associate Professor of Art History and curator of two galleries at New Jersey City University. She is the author of _Into Performance: Japanese Women Artists in New York_. (shrink)

Political developments in Japan from the latter part of 2000 to the year 2001 were highlighted by the executive transition from unpopular Yoshiro Mori to exceptionally popular Junichiro Koizumu as the nation's leader.