Foreign language learning can lead learners to learn about different cultural context behind the language, and then to experience identity expansion or personal growth. The present study depicts potential and the meaning of English learning other than gaining linguistic skills. The participants are three young Japanese learners of English, who contribute to classes being more learner-centered. They often initiate interaction in natural discourse, in which interaction itself rather than language acquisition is emphasized. Their classroom interaction and also interview data were analyzed, and it was discovered that through the interactions those three learners got absorbed in learning material and that they gained the sense of well-being in the class, which brought about an “English-self”, a newly developed part of their identities.

The authors produced the ‘Hifumi Gymnastics’ programme, which included four representative movements based on Japanese traditional arts, to help Japanese children improve their physical strength and to address their lack of exercise. In addition, this exercise programme was designed to help children work on their educational subjects while enjoying local sports activities and educational scenes. The purpose of this study is to clarify the exercise intensity and the featured movements of Hifumi Gymnastics. Concretely, the program was measured by two methods: heart rate variability (HRV) and the body parts with the highest maximum temperature. Then, it was analysed by comparing its data to those of ‘Radio Exercise No. 1’, which is the representative exercise programme in Japan. The HRV for Hifumi Gymnastics increased gradually to approximately 75/min-100/min as the exercise load increased and ended. Thus, the intensity of the exercise proved to be slightly higher for Hifumi Gymnastics than for Radio Exercise No. 1. In terms of thermography, Hifumi Gymnastics constantly stimulated the back and lateral muscles of the lower extremities. This tendency was thought to be attributable to the selected four movements that the authors intentionally incorporated into the programme. From the above results, it is clarified that Hifumi Gymnastics is constructed of various movements and it uses many body parts from the comparison with Radio exercises. This results supports that it is valid as children's exercise for strengthening the lower extremities.

Annie Proulx’s first novel Postcards is a saga of the disintegration of a rural New England family, whichis so realistically rendered that any connection with Jacques Derrida’s philosophical theory of the post in The Post Card seems unlikely to exist. At the same time, it is evident that the novel is committed to the quiddity of the postcard as a medium that is simultaneously postal and postmodern. Through the clever use of graphically presented patchwork postcards, the novel epitomizes the economical and cultural transfiguration of the twentieth century America. In Derrida’s postal theory, the postcard marks the end of the age of the postal system that transmits documents. This paper argues that what the postcards in the eponymous novel want to say is how Derridian “postcardization” corresponds to postmodernization at the most basic and personal level. The condition of Postcards may not be manifestly postcolonial, and the epistolary space is only partial, but the idea of the postmodern postal principle prevails in the novel, which registers the diasporic flux of people, place, and time with no destination whatsoever.

Since the Second World War, the height of Japanese 17 year-olds has increased 10cm for boys and 6cm for girls. This is a well-known fact. This marked increase in height is commonly believed to be a “phenomenon occurring during the school-age period”, and following this reasoning, it is suggested to be a result of an acceleration or advancement of growth during this interval, and especially during puberty.

However, we reviewed school health statistics surveys since 1900 to 2017 and discovered that the prevailing explanation is incorrect. Furthermore, we found that the increased size of the Japanese people is brought about before children attend school (in early childhood), and that there is a complimentary/negative correlation (boys r=－0.958, girls r=－0.989) between growth during the school-age period and early childhood.

　　The teaching materials for Chinese classical writing in junior high schools have remained unchanged for many years. However, “curriculum management” has been positioned as a pillar of the new government course guidelines together with a “review of the framework of the government course guidelines” and “active learning” in the “Improvement and Required Policy for the Government Course Guidelines in Kindergartens, Elementary Schools, Junior High School, High Schools and Special Support Schools” report presented in December 2016. This proposal was also reflected in the government course guidelines publicly announced in March 2017. This study examines the possibility of expanding the selection of teaching materials for Chinese classical writing according to the composition of classes across subjects based on “curriculum management.” This study only exemplifies cases of cooperation between the classic field or Chinese classical writing in Japanese language and the history field in social studies. Nevertheless, there is also a possibility for cooperation with comprehensive learning while considering regional culture or history, the existence human resources and other factors. Efforts beyond the framework of Japanese language education reliant on such conventional textbooks will give students encounters with Chinese classical writing that also tie together with modern society while being rooted in their own culture.

　This paper explores questions of identity as a European-descended white, in the Caribbean islands of Barbados and Trinidad, and an examination of who is considered white and what constitutes their whiteness in relation to non-whites. In August 2016 and February 2017, oral history interviews were conducted in Barbados and Trinidad with adult participants who consider themselves white and who are considered white by other whites. The interviews were anonymously transcribed word-by-word, reconstructed into narratives without losing the participants' intention and meaning, and then quoted in this paper's analysis. The research findings suggest that the European-descended whites in Barbados are willing to speak out about their racial background, that is, you could claim that you are “white” as far as your physical features allow. On the other hand, the European-descended whites in Trinidad insist on their racial purity as white, and show apparent discomfort with the idea of interracial marriage. While maintaining this concept of racial purity as white is difficult in the globalised Caribbean, colonial notions of whiteness still remain in these societies.

　　The effects of ellagic acid, a phenolic phytochemical contained in fruits and vegetables, on sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺ uptake and myocardial contraction were examined in mouse ventricular myocardia. In cardiomyocytes loaded with Fura-2 (a fluorescent Ca²⁺ indicator), isoprenaline (a β-adrenoceptor agonist) produced a decrease in the basal fluorescence ratio. This decrease was inhibited by propranolol (a β-adrenoceptor antagonist) and cyclopiazonic acid (a sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺-ATPase inhibitor). Ellagic acid produced a decrease in basal fluorescence ratio, which was completely inhibited by cyclopiazonic acid. In isolated myocardial tissue preparations, isoprenaline increased the contractile force and shortened the time required for relaxation. Ouabin, a cardiac glycoside, increased the contractile force but did not affect the time required for relaxation. Ellagic acid shortened the time required for relaxation but did not affect the contractile force. The beating rate of isolated right atria was increased by isoprenaline, but ellagic acid had no effect. In conclusion, ellagic acid accelerates sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺ uptake and myocardial relaxation without affecting the contractile force or the beating rate. Ellagic acid, which has such non-conventional mode of action, may be of value in the long-term maintenance of cardiac function.

　Since its launch in 1965, the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), one of Japan’s international cooperation programmes, has continuously dispatched Japanese language instructors to various countries and areas. As of February 2018, approximately 2,000 Japanese language instructors have been sent overseas to support Japanese-language education, as an official project under this programme. Yet, from the end of World War II to date, the Japanese government has not articulated its view on the purposes and guidelines for Japanese-language education in foreign countries. In addition, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the implementing body of the JOCV, does not have any specific guidelines for the teaching of the Japanese language. Scholars have expressed their concern for the future of Japanese-language education. In particular, they pointed out the Japanese government’s ambivalence regarding the purposes of Japanese language education in overseas, such as the government’s attempt to popularize Japanese language, and also the political intention to manipulate criticism from overseas, in order to encourage a favorable understanding of Japan.

　Recently, our neighboring country has donated their language and cultural institutions to schools across the world. The quantitative research on the achievement of the domestic and overseas Japanese language education recorded by the Japan Foundation indicates an overall increase from 1979 to 2015, broken down as follows: Japanese teaching institution, 14.1 times; Japanese language instructors, 15.6 times; Japanese language learners, 28.7 times.

　This paper aims to quantitatively and qualitatively record the achievements of three researchers, who served as JOCV Japanese-language instructors in Bulgaria, Jamaica and Vietnam respectively. Ten years has passed since the researchers completed their assignments. This study has an attempt to highlight the significance of government-funded JOCV’s Japanese-language education in overseas.

　　In the clinical setting, we have encountered cases of renal lesions, although once resolved, that progress gradually to end-stage renal disease after an extended latent period. However, appropriate model explaining renal lesions with such an insidious progression is limited. It has been reported that prior minor podocyte injury without proteinuria could exacerbate mesangial alterations and cause irreversible mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis with persistent proteinuria. To better understand the possible protective relationship of podocytes and mesangial cells against chronic disease progression, we examined the effect of concomitant damage to both cells using anti-Thy-1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) 1-22-3 and anti-nephrin mAb 5-1-6. When injected separately, the mAbs induced reversible renal lesions with transient proteinuria, whereas simultaneous injection evoked immediate massive proteinuria that steadily decreased to low levels until 3 months. The most remarkable feature of this model was that the proteinuria then began to gradually rise until 9 months, at which time electron microscopy revealed effacement of foot processes and accumulation of collagen fibrils in the tubulointerstitium and immunofluorescence showed deposition of collagen type I in glomeruli.

　　When the proteinuria commenced increasing at 3 months, mesangial proliferation was already evident in light microscopy and collagen deposition was present in glomeruli according to immunofluorescence. These results suggested that simultaneous insult to podocytes and mesangial cells caused novel progressive renal lesions with the characteristic proteinuria kinetics of chronic glomerulonephritis and indicated the possibility of a coordinated protective cellular role. There have been no other models of a single injection causing such progressive renal lesions to date. This novel system may shed light on the mechanism and treatment of gradually deteriorating renal lesions.

The purpose of this paper is to visualize the cause of the nurse's human error. So, with this paper, I surveyed six cases. As a result, insufficient communications and a useless manual were found as causes of the nurse's human error. However, this survey did not have enough data of case studies. It is difficult to gather cases of the nurse’s human error. A person makes a mistake. I would like to expect that nurses' human errors will be reduced by these case studies.

Rhizobium is infected with host legume plants and forms nodules, and nitrogen fixing is performed. In recent years, it has been studied that nodule formation involves plant hormones. In particular, the cytokinin signaling system is shown to be involved in the nodulation mechanism. This study aims to explore the optimal tissue fixation method for the study of tissue specific expression of cytokinin signaling genes in legume plants infected Rhizobium.

　Otsuma Management Academy (OMA) is an extracurricular career education program in Otsuma Women’s University. In 2016, for the students who could not attend classes, it introduced the first e-learning course “Literacy and applications for Current Topics” by smartphone or PC. After gathering many participants in the first e-learning course, OMA introduced next e-learning courses that can enrich English vocabulary in 2017. One is “English vocabulary Queen” and the other is “English vocabulary Examination”. OMA prepared three e-learning courses in 2017. One of the strength of e-learning system is the visualization of the students’ performance and motivation thanks to the LMS (Learning Management System). There were are phenomena. First, the habit of learning is observed in the case of passive learning, the students receive the questions at the fixed time every day. On the other hand, in the case that the students can recognize their performance immediately, many students drop out of the courses. This second case means that the visualization for the student is not always effective. New functions of e-learning system that meet the motivation of the students are required.

   The present study aimed to analyze the career awareness of women’s university students using the CAVT (career action vision test), and clarify their awareness according to the grade difference and their ideal life courses. The study subjects comprised 307 first- to fourth-year students, and their ideal life courses and data from the Fifteenth Japanese National Fertility Survey (Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare) were compared. This indicated that our data were similar to the distributions of representative samples of women’s university students. Grade-based analyses revealed that vision scores were higher for first- and fourth-year than second-and third-year students. Action scores were higher for fourth-year than third-year students, and were higher for first-year than second- and third-year students. It was suggested that first- and fourth-year students have higher-level career awareness compared with second- and third-year students. Analyses according to the ideal life course revealed no significant differences in action scores; on the other hand, the vision score for “balancing and unmarried employment” was higher than that for “Unknown and full-time housewife”. This suggested that students choosing the former have higher-level awareness of the concept of a life plan compared with those choosing the latter.

　The present authors have been creating hand-crafted teaching materials by using recent advanced Information Communication Technologies and conducting school activities at both special needs and general schools. The research project organized by one of the present authors, Shigeru Ikuta is now widely spread all over the world; more than 180 schoolteachers even in Japan join the present project. The research activities described in the present paper were performed to help students with various difficulties learn and improve their required subjects and daily lives by using newly developed software and handy tools with Bluetooth functionality. Shigeru Ikuta is now editing a book entitled as "Handmade Teaching Materials for Students with Disabilities," published by the IGI-Global, USA in August; 15 refereed chapter papers all over the world are included in the book. This book is quite valuable to introduce Japanese activities performed at special needs school to all over the world. Shigeru Ikuta was recently invited by the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia; he has performed workshops twice to pass the know-how of creating handmade teaching materials to kindergarten teachers at the 6th International Education and Forum (Teaching and Learning for Early Childhood Education 2018). The present paper describes the activities performed in 2017 academic year by the Japanese schoolteachers and Otsuma Women's university students.

   In this paper, we conducted a field survey by the participation observation in Minami Sanriku-cho, Kesennuma City and South Aso Village in the area affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Kumamoto Earthquake, in oder to clarify the actual condition and problems of "Regional Revitalization Network of Haiboshi (specialty products of fish or meat that is deodorized，dried and matured by volcanic ash and refrigerator)" developing over " Haiboshi forum".

   Therefore, first, 1． We grasp the current situation of the disaster area recovery based on the participation observation by the advertisement sales of "Sakurajima Haiboshi " and "Mature Takaharu Haiboshi " in "Minamisanriku Fukko Ichi (a disaster area recovery event)" in the afflicted area of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Next， 2． We will clarify the progress and future tasks of 'Kesennuma Shark Haiboshi ' (provisional name) by the "Kesennuma Haiboshi party" by participation observation and interview survey. On the other hand, 3． We discuss the possibility of regional regeneration by Haiboshi in the Aso region affected by the Kumamoto earthquake through participation observation. And 4． We draw relationship structure of the "Regeneration Network of Haiboshi Connections" developed in cooperation between the areas affected by the earthquake (Kesennuma, city Aso area) and the volcanic disaster stricken areas (Takaharu town, Miyakonojo city etc.) by "Digital Networking Model", and will examine the effectiveness of "regional collaboration digital networking" and propose better regional collaboration issues for regional revitalization including disaster area recovery.

　This study investigated how body image dissatisfaction affects abnormal eating behaviors among male undergraduate students, using femininity as the key variable. Male undergraduate students (n = 184) were divided into a high-femininity group (n = 97) and a low-femininity group (n = 87). The relevance of a model presuming a process similar to the influence of body image dissatisfaction on abnormal eating behaviors, which has been demonstrated previously among female undergraduate students, was assessed in both groups. Path analysis with structural equation modeling confirmed that model fit was high in the high-femininity group, but low in the low-femininity group. In the latter, the feeling of dissatisfaction with the appraisal of body image by others suggests that the process involved was not associated with uncontrollable food intake, and thus differed from the pattern observed in the high-femininity group and in previous studies. This suggests that the psychological process by which abnormal eating behavior manifests is similar between women and highly feminine men.

　When comparing tea ceremonies of China and Japan, it must be pointed out that, as opposed to Japan, where tea ceremony schools exist, in China they do not exist. Moreover, this is not relevant only to the ancient tradition of performing tea ceremonies, but also to the modern day, in so much as there is still a lack of momentum to form schools to teach it.

　By taking into account the current state of tea ceremony schools in Japan, this document identifies the cause of lack of tea ceremony schools in China and reveals what Chinese people seek in tea, from the perspectives of the presence of potential founders, the specific nature of basic philosophies that form the principles of schools, systematic structures, as well as the establishment of succession system and education system.

A field survey was conducted in China to verify the relationship between moral education and national character.The conclusion is as follows.

1. Moral education in China is the act of shifting what was originally home education and social education to schools.

2. Excessive consciousness to place importance on entrance examinations to universities is still strong. Although moral education is necessary to alter this state of consciousness, in reality, moral education is already strongly disseminated among generations of people with such cultural consciousness. This is one of numerous paradoxes.

3. Although home education by parents is vital to for the success of moral education, disposition of parents is gradually becoming lower, which is another paradoxical phenomenon.

4. The pressing issue in education in China is to build an educational model that is adaptable to a wide variety of values and choices in life rather than over-stressing moral education.

　Otsuma Women’s University will celebrate its 110^th anniversary in 2018. Gomokumeshi, the autobiography of the founder of Otsuma, Mrs. Kotaka Otsuma, details Otsuma’s history as well as Otsuma’s principle of the education for women, for which it has earned the reputation of raising “good wives and wise mothers”. Gomokumeshi has been widely read not only by pupils and students, but faculty and administrative staff members. Additionally, from 2016, Gomokumeshi was listed as one of the mandatory readings for the exchange students who came to study Japanese language and culture at Otsuma. This article points out the following: why they chose Otsuma to study Japanese language and culture; the aspects of the exchange students’ Otsuma life; their views of, and reaction to reading Gomokumeshi; and the overall significance of studying at Otsuma. In conclusion, although the exchange students were unsatisfied with Otsuma’s particularly small Japanese language study program, as well as paucity of interaction with Japanese Otsuma students, many of them were happy with the overall experiences at Otsuma, which is strategically located in the centre of Tokyo, and which would have allowed them to experience Japanese cultural events. It was clear that the exchange students were considerably impressed by the fact that Otsuma was established by a married Japanese woman who overcame all the struggles and challenges.

　The research object of this paper is set for the Chinese TV drama criticism under the influence of contemporary social trend. This thesis carries on the rational analysis for Chinese TV criticisms using the theory of “criticism of the judge” for the first time. This thesis puts the Chinese TV criticism in the context of social and historical changes appearing since the new period of reform and opening under the background of the evolution of contemporary social trend. It carries out a series of close reading of the articles on different TV criticisms, using the elegant famous artists in the history of criticism of Chinese TV series material as a sample, using the Chinese TV series theme types to divide standards, trying to find a path for both of them echo under the law to follow in the mix of criticism of social ideological trend and subject matter. Through the analysis of Chinese TV drama genre criticism and the social ideological trend relations, we may discover, the TV drama genre criticism in the Chinese present age can reflect the mainstream society ideological trend on its text. It grows in the elite culture and in the mass culture linguistic environment, thus it could be influenced by each kind of social ideological trend. Moreover, Contemporary China's TV drama genre criticism was produced social ideological trend, market, and politics. As a center of society, it has the important understanding function. But currently Chinese TV drama criticism appear over concentration in critic and criticism position, the relevant departments also need to pay attention to them.

　　This paper attempts to modify historical institutionalism’s philosophy/framework so that its insights might fit into European Union (EU) study. After the launch of the Single Market Programme and ratification of the Single European Act, theoretical approaches regarding the EU developed. Historical institutionalism was one such approach and highlighted the long-term effect of EU institutions on member states. However, historical institutionalism accepts some assumptions of its rival scholarship concerning states’ preferences and behaviors, especially those of liberal intergovernmentalism. This puts constraints on the arguments developed by historical institutionalism.

　　This paper clarifies such constraints in the context of development of theoretical arguments and attempts to overcome them by modifying the arguments made by historical institutionalism so they might fit into EU study. This modified version of historical institutionalism emphasizes that once member states concluded the Treaty of Rome to seek a European solution instead of a national one, noncompliance or failure to implement treaty provisions could not remain. While EU institutions obey the treaty and some transnational actors find opportunities in its provisions, member states do not always comply, sometimes taking measures that reserve national governments’ noncompliance. However, once European solutions are demanded and concluded by member states, they cannot achieve their goals without them and reservation measures and practices must be abandoned. This paper highlights that the initial institutional choice matters because it builds momentum toward integration.

　　This revised version of historical institutionalism avoids some critiques directed toward the original philosophy/framework, such as post hoc explanation and lack of testable hypothesis.

　The purpose of this research is to show the psychological effect of green conservation activities to citizen volunteers, corporate employees and non-profit organization staff. Therefore, I set three research subjects in the two fields in Tokyo metropolitan area. Then, I investigated by POMS shortened version consisting of 6 scales before and after conservation activities. As a result, it was classified into staff type and corporate citizen type. In the corporate citizen type, there is a tendency for participants to decrease psychological stress and to bring liveliness like participation in forest therapy, although physical fatigue by acting. However, in the staff type, there is a tendency for participants to make them tired physically, diminish liveliness and increase psychological stress by operating the conservation activities.