This study examines the competition for readers between daily and weekly newspapers, and between paid and free newspapers in Canada. Results showed that daily and weekly newspapers were competitive with each other and had a substitutes relationship. The influence of daily newspapers on weekly newspapers was greater than the influence of weekly newspapers on daily newspapers, and the pressure of umbrella competition in Canada was found to be a downward rather than an upward influence. Regarding the relationship between paid dailies and free weekly newspapers, umbrella competition was confirmed and a substitute relationship was found between the two. The pressure from paid dailies to free dailies was by far greater than vice versa, and there was downward pressure from dailies to weeklies. In the relationship between paid weekly newspapers and free daily newspapers, no competitive relationship was found between the two, and the two did not influence each other. Key words: Canadian newspaper industry, competition for readers, umbrella competition model, daily vs. weekly, paid vs. free

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This study seeks to understand the experiences of people who are in charge of accepting migrant caregivers into nursing care facilities in Okayama Prefecture, and issues that arise in the workplace and community. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eleven coordinators at nine facilities. Their narratives were analyzed using critical theory; themes emerged related to the community and existing systems. From the community, these were problems involving (1) picking fruits from public places, (2) garbage, (3) circular notices, (4) real estate, and (5) cultural differences regarding food. As for existing systems, the emerged issue is (1) opacity of lump-sum withdrawal payments. Key words: Migrant caregiver acceptance coordinators, Okayama Prefecture, Community, Nursing care facilities, Lump-sum Withdrawal Payments

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A production quantity prediction system, independent of subjective judgment, was developed using a generalized state space model to reduce food waste in retail bakeries. The model was constructed through formulation, time series cross-validation, and parameter estimation. The results suggest that the model successfully captured the patterns underlying production quantity decisions. Furthermore, it was confirmed that both the day of the week and total precipitation significantly influenced production quantity. Future work will focus on refining the dataset to develop a more reliable and generalized model. Key words : SDGs, food waste reduction, time series analysis, state space model, feature selection

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With the enforcement of the Work Style Reform Act, the logistics industry has been subject to upper limits on overtime hours, resulting in a serious shortage of truck drivers. Modal shift transportation, which combines truck transportation with rail transport, has been promoted, but the introduction of mixed cargo and passenger transport is being considered as a measure to further improve transportation efficiency. Until now, the introduction of mixed cargo and passenger transport has been considered in businesses involving depopulated areas, with the aim of improving logistics efficiency and maintaining public transportation. Mixed cargo and passenger transport is transporting cargo and passengers on the same train or vehicle, and its full-scale introduction is expected to reduce the number of cargo trucks transported on trunk lines. It also makes it possible to effectively utilize vacant seats and empty spaces in passenger transport. In addition, it is expected that the efficiency of transportation will reduce emissions such as CO2 and alleviate traffic congestion. In light of this, this study will examine the possibility of eliminating manual loading and unloading in rail transport for mixed cargo and passenger transport and the possibility of mechanizing it as a measure to address this issue. Furthermore, this study will show the direction to maximize the effectiveness of mixed cargo and passenger transport by conducting detailed research and studies on the characteristics of related material handling equipment. Keyword: Mixed Cargo and Passenger Transport, Truck Transport, Railway Loading and Unloading

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The Reforms BUNKYOU were implemented by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1862, the political climate since the opening of the country in 1854 meant a transition to an emergency regime. The reforms were not initiated by the Shogunate. Much con‐sideration has already been given to the three major reforms. However, studies fiscal perspective have been neglected. The purpose of this paper is to analysis and discuss the Reforms of BUNKYOU from a fiscal perspective, taking into account previous studies. Key words: Reforms BUNKYOU, Tokugawa Shogunate, three major reforms

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This study examined the evolution of English language education policy discourse in Japan by analyzing the minutes of the National Diet from 1947 to 2023. Employing quantitative content analysis, the study contrasted discussions of English education with both general education discourse and science education discourse. The findings identify chronological patterns in politicians’ attention across subject areas, demonstrating how sociopolitical factors influence educational policy priorities. This historical perspective provides key insights into contemporary debates surrounding English language education policy in Japan and contributes to our understanding of educational policy-making processes. Keywords: English language education, education policy, politicians, policy-making process, comparative study

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Depending on whether or not they were a feudalistic, late Edo period epistemology was divided into two economic thought. The representative of former is Sorai, and the representative of latter is Tosiaki HONDA. Tosiaki was an economist of the Kansei period, and discussed the importance of trade issues, focusing on what his predecessors had overlooked. The purpose of this article is to provide some insights into the economic thought of Tosiaki HONDA on the base of the above-mentioned previous studies. I try to discuss some consideration. Key words: Edo period, Confucian scholar, Economic thought

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English reading comprehension skills are essential for science and engineering students to deepen their knowledge in specialized fields. This study examines the effects of chunking instruction on comprehension, reading speed, and eye movement among 19 university students. The results show improved comprehension for beginner-level texts after the instruction, though no significant effects were observed for advanced-level texts. Eye-tracking data suggest that chunking instruction influences the reading process, with its effectiveness varying based on passage difficulty. These findings indicate the potential of chunking instruction as an effective strategy for enhancing reading comprehension among science and engineering students. Keywords : English education, Reading instruction, Chunking, Eye tracking

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This study analyzed the behavior of intermediaries, buyers, and sellers in Small and medium-sized enterprises M&A. A three-player game model was created and then analyzed by solving the model. The results showed that M&A is successful in cases where there is only one equilibrium, but negotiations may break down in cases where there is a mixed strategy. Furthermore, the effect of the revision of the Small and medium-sized enterprises M&A guidelines was that multiple equilibria, or mixed strategy equilibrium, would become easier to achieve. Key words : Small and medium-sized enterprises M&A, intermediaries, buyer firms, seller firms, three-player game

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With advancements in communication technology, the influence of customers on companies in the field of marketing has significantly increased. While companies have identified customer engagement as one of the critical challenges in marketing and have been leveraging digital technologies to address this issue, they have yet to achieve its successful establishment. On the other hand, customers are increasingly drawn to fictional characters, as evidenced by behaviors such as oshi-katsu, where individuals actively support their favorite characters. This study aims to explore the potential of establishing customer engagement through the utilization of fictional characters. To achieve this, a novel model for fostering customer engagement through the use of characters was proposed and validated through an internet-based empirical experiment and survey analysis. The findings demonstrate that the proposed model is effective and confirm that leveraging fictional characters can indeed facilitate the establishment of customer engagement. Key words : ChatGPT、character, customer engagement,

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Open innovation has garnered attention as an effective approach to accelerating innovation. However, in Japan, a significant challenge lies in the limited participation of young people in open innovation initiatives. This study addresses the research question: How can we encourage students to actively participate in open innovation projects? To explore this question, two rounds of surveys were conducted with university students. The survey results revealed that when students gain a proper understanding of open innovation, they are more inclined to learn about it and express interest in participating in such projects.

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In case that products have price elasticity of demand, cooperation between the manufacturer and retailer is an effective way for maximizing total profit in overall of supply chain. In this study, we extended the conventional supply chain model to a stochastic programming model that is closer to a real problem considering uncertainty of demand with price elasticity and we proposed its solution. Moreover, we showed total profit in overall of supply chain in the model that cooperating between manufacturer and retailer was higher than locally optimization model in each component of supply chain. Key words: Supply Chain Management, Joint Economic Lot Sizing, Price Elasticity of Demand, Total Optimization, Stochastic Programming

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The purpose of this study is to understand the information behavior of young adults from the perspective of utility theory in economics. This study defined utility as a feeling of subjective satisfaction toward three types of information (intellectual, sensory and emotional). For the empirical analysis, a questionnaire survey was conducted on university students (N = 277). The data obtained from the open questions were compiled and analyzed through quantitative text analysis. The results of the analysis showed that young adults satisfied their information utility mainly by using social networking sites. However, in order to collectively satisfy the three types of information utility, a personal and mass media presence serving a hub-like role that linked the information utilities together was necessary. Ambiguity of the distinction between utility toward intellectual information and utility toward sensory information was also observed. It was suggested that young adult demand rapidity in satisfying these information utilities. It was concluded that this desire of young adults toward immediate information gathering is inviting confusion among the large amounts of information consumed on a daily basis. Key words: young adult, information behavior, utility theory, quantitative text analysis

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Local government operations are changing rapidly due to the promotion of DX, so the outsourcing company is playing an important role. Managing information security for municipalities is very difficult under such circumstances, and incidents have increasingly occurred in the outsourcing company. In this study, we conducted research because we believe there are issues within municipalities that have not been investigated to determine their causes. The result of organizing and analyzing the detected information by utilizing systems thinking revealed that the tragedy of the commons and the shifting of problems were found to be lurking within the organization. Key Words: system thinking , risk management , local governments , information security

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