The purpose of this study is to research the parents' attitudes toward gender roles and their consciousness of gender biases in the day-care at kindergartens and nursery schools, and to examine the factors to promote or restrain gender-free child day-care. The results of the study are as follows: 1) Mothers have relatively non-traditional policies as regards gender roles as well as child-care. 2) Mothers consider it inappropriate to distinguish girls from boys and treat them differently. 3) Mothers, however, seem to perceive that some gender biases exist in the institutionalized or customized daily activities in kindergartens and nursery schools. 4) Mothers seem neither to take any action against it nor show any concern about gender-free child-care. Concerted efforts by parents and day-care staff, therefore, are needed in order to study and realize gender equality so as to prepare children for equal participation in social activities in the future.

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The minimal effective dose was evaluated of a mixture (AG) containing depolymerized sodium alginate as non-fermentable dietary fiber and partially hydrolyzed guar gum as fermentable dietary fiber at a weight ratio 3 to 2 to treat defecation and abdominal discomfort in females (n=60) suffering from functional constipation and low frequency of defecation (≤4 days/week). Clinical testing used a single blind-dose escalation regime. The experimental duration was 14 weeks, constituting four consecutive periods: the observation period (2 weeks); and three periods of AG administration as a 200-ml beverage in doses of 0 g (4 weeks), 2.5 g (4 weeks) and 5 g (4 weeks). The frequency of defecation (numbers of days and times) and the fecal weight of the study subjects (n=42) were significantly higher, and the score for abdominal discomfort significantly lower during the 5-g AG administration period than the 0-g period. There were no clinical problems for any of the subjects (n=60) during the administration period. These results suggest that the intake of at least 5 g of AG can increase the defecation frequency and effectively reduce the abdominal discomfort for some people who experience functional constipation.

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This paper aims to clarify advances in research concerning Japanese clothing between the Second World War and the post-war period of rapid economic growth. After Japan's defeat, the circumstances of the transitional period, from the time when there was a shortage of clothing until it became possible to freely obtain clothing, are not sufficiently clear. Through an analysis of articles from the monthly women's magazine “Fujin Asahi” around 1950, this paper clarifies how women remade clothes. At first, women were making western-style clothes by altering second-hand clothes and kimonos with skills and techniques that they had acquired from dress-making schools and books. After clothing regulations were abolished in 1950, new fabrics became available and the variety of clothing increased. Meanwhile, women were not merely imitating American and French fashion, as it has been said up until now. In particular, because much value was attached to work both in and outside the home, it has become clear that clothes specifically intended for work were designed, and the merits of Japanese clothing were taken into account.

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This study aims to research the relation between the family structure and the living conditions in the suburban residential areas in Kansai. We chose the areas in and around Gakuenmae in Nara Prefecture, which was developed 35-55 years ago. l) Approximately 40% of the households were couples with no children and 10% were singles. Noticeably, they were elderly. 2) It is to be noted, however, that the residents in the area, which had been developed in the early period in the vicinity of a railway station, were younger than those in other areas presumably on account of the fluidity of the residents. In other words, the aging rate is presumed to have respectively progressed depending on the period of development. 3) As to the pattern of the generational living conditions, 17% of the married people lived with their parent(s) and their mean residential size was larger than 400 m². As for the parent(s), more than half of those families had only female parents, and half of those parents were older than 80 years of age. It is to be noted that the rate of the parent(s) living with their daughter's family was higher than the rate recorded in our research conducted 10 years ago. 4) On the other hand, the rate of those living with the married children was 30%, which was higher than our expectation. It is again to be noted that 10% of the married children lived near their parent(s), within a walking distance of 5 minutes. In other words, 35% of the married children lived together with or not far from their parent(s). This high rate would be one of the most remarkable features of the present research. 5) Those in the higher age bracket expressed their wish to live where they were, and those in the age bracket of 50 or less expressed their aspirations to move to other areas for farm life, convenience of downtown life, or different suburban life. 6) Generally speaking, the residents in and around Gakuenmae had no particular intention of leaving their assets (house and land) to children for them to live there.

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The purpose of this study is to clarify the living environment of detached house in the suburbs. On the basis of a survey of the dwellers, we studied the transfiguration of family structure as well as the improvement made on their dwelling; our sample dwellings were classified into three categories for the purpose of our analysis. Furthermore, we tried to extract some factors that had contributed to respective degree of satisfaction reported by our informants as regards the floor space. The results are as follows; 1) As mentioned above, the total floor space was classified into three categories, and we found that the dwellers' stance toward housing improvement was different by category. 2) It might be mentioned that approximately thirty percent of the residents started renovation 10 to 29 years after having obtained the property, to wit, too early in consideration of the durability of their house. 3) Finally, we extracted three factors which had effectively improved the degree of satisfaction of their floor space; 1) The degree of satisfaction was higher in those households who had either renovated or rebuilt their residence. 2) Higher satisfaction was expressed by households where the head of the family was less than 65 years of age. 3) Per capita floor space was a prime factor: larger the per capita floor space, higher the degree of satisfaction. The degree of satisfaction, however, tended to decrease where per capita was larger than 60 m² whereas the degree of satisfaction considerably decreased where per capita was larger than 80 m².

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