This study explores the connection between infants’ peer relationships and objects in preschool, with a focus on how infants share with other children. Using observations and detailed analyses, we found that the sharing of an object between an infant and other children is tied (1) to their relationship as playmates, and (2) to their image of children’s play or peer consciousness of similar acts. The paper discusses (3) how the connection between an infant’s peer relationships and objects depends on the visual appeal and permanence of the object, and (4) how, in preschool education, objects have various meanings for children that are related to their images of pretend play and their peer relationships.

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This study investigated the process of knowledge building in a mathematics class. In this classroom activity, a picture helps students to visualize ways of thinking and understanding, which supports both individual student learning and collaborative learning and knowledge building. The students' picture plays important roles in Cobb's 'folding back', which is the process that supports learning in a collective activity and in scaffolding the collaborative knowledge building. Analyzing the classroom discourse, including the use of a figurative representation, this paper discusses the process of 'folding back' to support individual student's learning and collaborative knowledge building, and describes the process of collaborative understanding in a collective learning activity.

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This study examined how infants develop the process of trace-making in everyday life. A longitudinal observation of two infants was conducted from 2 to 18 months after birth. Although numerous studies have examined the process of drawing, little is known about pre-representative acts or about trace-making itself. The term trace-making, especially in infancy, merits careful consideration because it is characterized as a spontaneous act. Observations indicate that trace-making episodes can be classified into three patterns: a) change of texture, b) change of layout, and c) change of state. The transition in the frequency of these patterns shows the process of acquiring controlled movement skills in daily tasks before acquiring the skill of depicting images. The results suggest that infants can select information about surface properties and learn how to change these properties after the age of 2 months.

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The purpose of this study was to examine how people with memory disorders get by in everyday life. The researcher collected data through fieldwork. The informants were three men who had sustained higher brain dysfunction and memory disorders for extended periods. The characteristics of their memory defects can be divided into four categories; 1) They have the past that they can never recall. 2) They suffer from partial memory loss. 3) They cannot place a given memory within the proper time frame of occurrence. 4) It takes a long time for them to recall a given memory. However, these individuals do not suffer from such memory defects all the time. Under the system which the staffs and members of community disability services have created it could be easy to overlook such memory defects at times.

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The author frequently visited a nursing home for the elderly, spending time and sharing experiences with residents. Through these experiences, it was felt that the environment, a place where the residents must live out the rest of their lives, was lacking something, such as those ordinary, daily experiences that we generally take for granted. This study focused on the act of going out as one such ordinary, daily experience. To investigate the meanings included in going out, the author accompanied some residents when they went out. This paper describes their actions and experiences, and presents interpretations of those events. The meaning of going out was found to be the very realization of actions, and the very generation of experiences, that leaving one's home makes possible. The results suggest that going out was not meaningful from a perspective outside of those events, but rather was meaningful only with respect to the actual process of sensing and internalizing the actions and experiences. It is hoped that the reader can also understand those qualities of the episodes described here.

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Generally, psychological recovery from an acquired disability involves acceptance of the disability. In this thesis, the author conducted a life story study to record the experiences of the people concerned from their own viewpoints. The author considers two life stories to examine disabilities from various perspectives and proposes 'networking-care' as a new concept. The results show that 'somatic relationships' and 'human relationships' are important in psychological recovery from disabilities. In addition, the 'interaction' and 'death and rebirth' models are presented as hypothetical models to explain the recovery process.

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In this study, the author investigated the expression of the inner world as dynamic "drama", in order to understand the therapeutic meaning of expression during "drama". A series of research sessions consisting of "drama" and interviews, consisting of a framework similar to that of psychotherapy was implemented with participant B and the meaning of expression in "drama" was examined idiographically. The study was conducted 10 times, once a week on the same weekday and at the same time. Results indicated that participant B projected both positive and negative images on the characters in "drama", and after a long period integrated both types of images within him. Also, the personality of participant B gradually became more flexible. He also displayed increased playfulness that he showed during "drama" without conscious realization. Moreover, the relationships between participant B and the observer (researcher) began to grow.

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Assisted reproductive technologies(ART) take a serious physical toll on patients. However, only a few studies have investigated the influence of these technologies on the body consciousness of the patients. Patients' body consciousness while receiving infertility treatment using ART was investigated. Interviews with nine patients revealed three types of body consciousness: 'biomedical-scientific', 'subjective-sensory' and 'naive-folkloric.' There were interactions such as 'cooperation', 'contradiction' and 'conflict' between 'biomedical-scientific' and 'subjectivesensory' body consciousness. These interactions apparently directed the patients' attitudes towards treatment: to 'move forward', just to 'continue', or to 'question' the meaning of the treatments. It was also found that the 'naivefolkloric' body consciousness takes the role of maintaining the mystery of life, which tends to be ignored during medical treatment. It is concluded that this type of consciousness is necessary to reconfirm the social meaning of reproduction.

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To establish psychological support techniques to help cancer patients coping with their disease before and after surgery, patients' psychological state was assessed pre- and post-surgery. The researcher directly involved in nursing care of 10 patients kept observation logs. Logs were analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. Observations revealed that pre-surgery, patients were fearful of cancer and death, avoided thinking of the future, and rested their hopes on surgery. After surgery, patients were hopeful of returning to their preoperative lives and focused energy on recovery. These patients battled their cancer, yet could not see an end to their struggles because they knew there were no guarantees. To others, patients may appear calm. However, their psychological state is complex. It is necessary to consider patient psychological states to facilitate behavioral measures.

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A Methodology of Dialogic Model Construction for qualitative studies (MDMC) is proposed and discussed with respect to the following three issues. 1) Dialogue among multiple realities: There appear to be multiple worlds and realities connected to research for different purposes. The purpose of MDMC is to construct the realities of possible, assumed worlds that are related to the actuality of experience. 2) Dialogue among multiple narratives: Narrative researchers need dialogic interactions with various levels of narrative. The first level consists of the facts of life events and experiences. The second level lies in the mutual act of telling stories that takes place among narrators and listeners. The third level is the narrative text and the construction of models. The fourth level consists of the ties between narratives and academic or practical issues. 3) Concepts of "narrative text" and "dialogic reflexivity": These concepts are important for the relative de-contextualization and generative re-connection in the narrating, reading, reflecting, and writing processes of researchers.

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