This research was aimed to clarify the educational assignments concerning Experience in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Home Economics. The questionnaire survey involved two parties: senders and recipients i.e., the home economic teachers who took their students to kindergarten and day nursery to play with children, and the preschool teachers at those facilities. It was found that both junior and senior high school home economics teachers had faced many difficulties in practicing ECEC. Actually due to the curriculum's restrictive boundaries, ECEC was not fully carried out in senior high school. Though the preschool teachers indicated some problems in the students' number and ECEC's form, they were able to evaluate the effectiveness of developing junior and senior high school students' readiness for parenting in ECEC and most of them had positive attitudes towards ECEC. In conclusion, both the senders and the recipients of ECEC should endeavor to strengthen and create more ties in order to enhance the educational effectiveness of ECEC.

View full abstract

A questionnaire survey was conducted on 1,195 female university students in Hiroshima Prefecture with the objective of improving the students' diet. The relationship of the current health condition, daily living habits, and diet with the recalled frequency of mealtime conversations at elementary school was investigated from a total of 1,173 valid responses. The female university students who answered that they had a high frequency of mealtime conversations at elementary school had a more favorable health condition and ideal daily living habits. These students also had a higher intake of meat, green and yellow vegetables, and other vegetables, more ideal dietary habits, and greater desire for a healthy diet based on traditional food. These findings demonstrate the influence of childhood eating habits and mealtime conversation on the students' subsequent life style.

View full abstract

Lactic acid bacteria were isolated from fermented squid (Ika-kimuchi) with the aim of finding new probiotic bacteria. The isolated bacteria were exposed to a GYP medium at pH 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 for four hours. All the bacterial strains survived at pH 3.0, and three of them, strains D-1, D-2 and D-3 retained their ability to grow at pH 2.0. These three acid-tolerant strains were grown in a medium with pepsin and bile, their growth not being affected. An analysis of the 16S rRNA sequences led to the identification of these three strains as Lactobacillus plantarum.

View full abstract

This study aims to investigate the travel backgrounds and attitude of the visitors from overseas as well as how Nara's tourism-related facilities and services are used and evaluated. Responses were obtained from 679 multinational visitors by questionnaires filled in at Chumon Gate of Todaiji Temple as well as at various overnight accommodations. Major findings may be summarized as follows: 1) First-time visitors on sightseeing tour of Japan tended to include Nara in their itinerary. 2) Major reasons to stay in Nara were their interest in and love for what this historic city can offer, while major reasons of a day trip to Nara were mostly on account of their tight tour schedule in Japan. 3) Some of their positive images of Nara were its history/culture, friendly people, nature/landscape, and tranquil atmosphere, while some of their negative images included a variety of attractions and shopping environment much to the disappointment of those involved in this sector of services. 4) Overall evaluation of the tourism-related facilities and services showed higher marks of the tourist information center and lower marks of the multinational signs and expository comments available at bus and tourist spots. 5) The differences of travel backgrounds, attitude, and use of tourism-related services were identified by nationality, age, gender, type of travel, and travel experiences.

View full abstract

A 3-year survey was performed with the precede/proceed model in W-cho, Kyoto Prefecture, to plan comprehensive dietary support for the elderly. This survey provided the basic data to evaluate the methods of future dietary support for the community residents. Dietary guidance was regularly given, and measures to improve this guidance were evaluated. Most subjects of this survey could perform regular daily activities without restrictions and with some degree of self-management. However, despite the annual increase in number of households consisting of only an elderly couple, the elderly subjects did not expect to live with their children. The project was conducted in terms of not only food intake but also quality of life, so that the details could adequately reflect the wish of the subjects to live all their remaining years in W-cho. In addition, as the precede stage progressed, the number of participants in the fields of health, medicine, and welfare increased, which led to the establishment of a comprehensive policy by consensus.

View full abstract