This study on housewives not employed full time reports on their self-recognition, practice and their effective results in the household work, in efforts to find causes as well as problems thereof. Some significant difference is found in their self-recognition, practice and its effective results in the household work in terms of age, wife-and-husband relationship, or seriousness of self-developmental attitudes. There are progressive, developmental steps distinctly observed deriving from the self-recognition of responsibility for the household work, the will of improving household work, the efforts directed to it, the self-esteem in the household work and the practicalization of their knowledge and skills thereof. Generally, the higher is their fundamental self-recognition maintained, the more effective is their will put to practice in progressive steps. In reality, however, the number of housewives not employed full time reaching the advanced steps decreases. The findings indicate the importance of recognition on the part of housewives that their vision of life should be managed practically and spontaneously in household work and that way should be devised to develop into practice their subjective decision of will, self-recognition of responsibility, and efforts directed toward it.

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This study on housewives not employed full time reports on a field investigation about their recognition of practice and future perspectives in the home management activities in and outside of their homes, in efforts to ascertain the causes and problems thereof. We examined their development of objective as well as substantive activities in their home management. It appears that their management practice is controlled by three factors : age, wife-and-husband relationship and degree of seriousness of self-developmental attitude. It is to be noted that their perspectives of life seem to be related to their intentions of various attitudes. Age and wife-and-husband relationship do not seem factors restricting their participation in social activities such as educational or cultural classes or contribution to society. There are progressive developmental steps observed in the fundamental home management, from the substantive to the objective development. In the process of advancing from one step to the next, the number of restrictive factors increases in proportion of which decreases the number of the housewives who recognize the value of practice or future perspectives. These findings indicate the importance of finding a way to induce the housewives to participate in various social activities so as to advance the objective development of their home management.

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The suppressive effect of ingesting a viscous exudate of mekabu on the rate of cecal fermentation in rats was evaluated from the lactic acid concentration in the cecum. Powdered feed including 7.5% fructooligosaccharides and 10% freeze-dried viscous exudate of mekabu were mixed with twice the amount of water to form a paste, and this was fed to male Wistar rats for four days. Feeding was limited 3 h after the start of the dark period. On the final day, the rats were sacrificed either 3 or 6 h after feeding, and the tissue weight of the gastrointestinal segments, the weight of the gastro-intestinal lumen contents, the viscosity of the cecal contents and the cecal organic acid concentration were measured. The retention time of the contents in various segments of the gastro-intestinal tract was estimated from the weight of the gastro-intestinal lumen contents. The retention time in the stomach and small intestine was prolonged after the ingestion of the viscous exudate of mekabu. This effect is thought to have been dependent on the viscosity of the contents. The lactic acid concentration in the cecal contents of the rats that had consumed a diet containing a viscous exudate of mekabu was lower than that in rats that had consumed a diet without the additive. This indicates that consumption of the viscous exudate suppressed the rate of fermentation by the cecal bacteria. Ingestion of the viscous exudate of mekabu increased the viscosity of the gastro-intestinal lumen contents and decreased the rate at which the substrate flowed into the cecum. At the same time, the metabolism of the intestinal bacteria was inhibited by the flow into the cecum of the low-fermentability viscous substances themselves.

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The cysteine protease, actinidin, in kiwifruit is known to inhibit gelatin gelation by hydrolyzing gelatin. The gelatinolytic activity in the fruit juice was examined in 13 kiwifruit cultivars obtained in Japan. Whereas the gelatin was thoroughly hydrolyzed by the kiwifruit juice in most of the cultivars, the Hort16A and Kosui fruit juice showed little or no gelatinolytic activity. The protease activity against L-pyroglutamyl-L-phenylalanyl-L-leucine p-nitroanilide in Kosui fruit juice was about 6% of that in Hayward, the most common kiwifruit cultivar. The addition of sliced or pureed flesh of Kosui to the gelatin jelly did not prevent the jelly from setting. The protease activity in Kosui puree, when added to gelatin jelly at 50%, caused only a 4-10% decrease in the gel strength. These results suggest that the raw fresh of Kosui kiwifruit can be satisfactorily used as an ingredient in gelatin-based foods.

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The difference was investigated of pre-pregnancy food choice and dietary behavior between women who deliver a low birth weight (LBW) baby and those who deliver a normal birth weight (NBW) baby. Data were collected from surveys of food frequency and food behavior, as well as infant birth weight. There was no statistically significant difference between the two populations in the average pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), although more women with LBW babies had a BMI<19.5 than women with NBW babies. Food frequency data showed that the women from both groups generally had a low energy, protein, calcium, and iron intake. The results of an attribution analysis show that the LBW subjects extensively used prepared food from convenience stores and supermarkets, did not mind eating out all the time, often ate junk food, and had dieted to lose weight. The results of this study are relevant to education that will help young Japanese women to develop a healthy lifestyle and food behavior and to deliver normal birth weight babies.

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The effects of lining on maintaining shape and line were investigated using four tight skirts made of woolen fabric : without lining, with conventional cupprammonium rayon (cupro) lining, with conventional polyester lining, and with polyester two-way stretch lining. Slippage of skirts and residual creases immediately after use were compared, using a simulation body and four experimental miniature skirts. The shapes of real skirts worn by subjects while walking were then observed using a motion analysis system and were compared by a visual sensory test. The results are as follows : (1) The results of the slippage comparison on the simulation body showed that skirts with smooth conventional lining fabrics moved more easily on the body. The use of smooth lining was found effective in adjusting to the deformation of the body. (2) Degree of residual creases on the experimental skirts after bending the simulation body for 30 min were compared by the visual sensory test. Residual creases immediately after release remained the clearest on the skirt without lining. This result implies that the use of lining fabrics is effective for crease resistance. (3) From the observation of the real skirts worn by walking subjects, we found that the skirt without lining tended to cling to the body, and that lining fabric was effective in maintaining good shape and lines. The result of the visual sensory test using video showed that the skirt with cupro lining was superior to the others in that it did not cling to the body.

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Oscar Wilde, one of the authors most associated with dandyism in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, was famous for his aestheticism and his own dandy attire. In this essay, I will study the dandyism represented in his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, examining actions and tastes of three characters. Wilde says in his letter 'Basil Hallward is what I think I am : Lord Henry what the world thinks to me : Dorian what I would like to be-in other ages, perhaps.' Lord Henry awakened Dorian to 'new Hedonism' and Dorian became a dandy in his action and taste. But Lord Henry wanted to create another dandy. Wilde makes Lord Henry and Dorian talk about 'fashion' and 'taste'. They express not only the appearance of the dandy but also the spirit of dandyism in those days. Three characters represent three phases of dandyism which Wilde wanted to represent.

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The purpose of this study is to examine preferred kitchen counter height for elderly. It is to be noted that the number of elderly households has increased in Japan keeping pace with the increase of elderly population. It is time for Japan to provide a physical setting in which all can live in comfort. It is not too much to state that this sort of setting determines human behaviors. Therefore, in this study, we focus on a kitchen, which is a very important space in a life. We researched the actual conditions of the kitchen, daily used by elderlies. We also analyzed the data in terms of condition of health, and compared with the existing data. The results are as follows; 1) Most elderlies are healthy, and enjoy their life having many hobbies. They often use the kitchen for taking a meal as well. 2) We classify the elderlies under study into three groups by health levels, with Group 1 being healthy and Group 3 least healthy. It should be pointed out that many in Group 3 are poorer in health than those in Groups 1 and 2, especially with impediment or aliment in the lower half of their body. 3) As regards the optimum height of kitchen counters, formula (1), is recommended for healthy elderlies while formula (2) for elderlies in poor health.

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