Adversity faced by the in-group may decrease group identification and cooperation. However, it is unknown whether group entitativity can mitigate the adverse effects on group identification and cooperation. To address this research gap, we conducted three studies in which we manipulated group entitativity (low vs. high) and task situation (unfavorable vs. favorable). Study 1 (N = 157) and Study 2 (N = 154) showed that group entitativity attenuated the negative effect of unfavorable situations on group identification. Heightened group entitativity satisfied the need to belong among members in unfavorable situations, which correlated with a partial increase in group identification. Similarly, Study 3 (N = 192) found that group entitativity mitigated the previously observed reduced cooperation among members in unfavorable situations, and group identification mediated the relationship between task situation and cooperative behavior. These findings provide valuable insights for groups to implement effective interventions aimed at bolstering solidarity.

This paper aims to evaluate theater workshops, focusing on goal adjustment through practice. The study highlights the unique challenges inherent in assessing workshops, much like other similar practices such as active learning. Traditional evaluation methods often fall short in capturing the holistic and process-driven outcomes of workshops. Using a case study of a workshop at Kawamo Elementary School, the collaborative efforts between external facilitators and regular school teachers are discussed. The study found the following: evaluation criteria are generated through the workshop process, emphasizing participants’ experiences and active participation. Multiple criteria and evaluators allow for mutual adjustment, leading to more accurate and context-specific standards. Spatial separation between practice and evaluation requires continual verification and adjustment of criteria, demonstrating the importance of adaptive evaluation. Future research could continue to refine these methods to enhance their applicability and effectiveness in various educational contexts.

When we attend to two concurrent tasks, our performance often deteriorates because of limited attentional resources. However, it remains controversial to what extent attentional resources are supramodal or modality-specific. This study investigated the effect of sustained concentration on audiovisual interference using object-based attention tasks. In Study 1, participants engaged in dual-tasks consisting of a luminance change detection task (visual) and a vowel detection task (visual/auditory). By comparing performance in unimodal and bimodal dual-tasks, we observed a trade-off between vision and audition, suggesting at least partial recruitment of supramodal attentional resources. In Study 2, participants engaged in dual-tasks consisting of a pitch change detection task and the same vowel detection task as in Study 1. We observed little interference in the bimodal dual-task but significant interference in the unimodal dual-task. These results suggest that it is difficult to determine the recruited attentional resources from a single perspective.

This paper aims to present an autoethnography of my experiences and reflections on an interdisciplinary collaborative research project in which I participated. It also serves as a post-publication development, exploring new approaches to facilitate communication among researchers from different academic disciplines. The study also demonstrates that autoethnography can serve as a tool for interdisciplinary communication in an ongoing project by recording and transcribing project meetings and interviews. This methodology allows for the reflective interpretation of statements and meetings, thereby shaping intersubjectivity through these interpretive processes. Such an intervention presents an alternative approach to bridge the gap between the humanities and engineering.

This paper investigates the semantic field of “everydayness” in the extended constellation of the Kyoto School. We examine the concepts of “ordinary mind,” “ground of the ordinary,” and “everydayness” in the thoughts of Suzuki Daisetsu and Nishida Kitarō in the 1930s and 1940s. We interpret this semantic field historically, focusing on the modernization of Buddhism as a process of philosophical synthesis between two conflicting dimensions of everydayness, which we call the epistemological and the ontological. It will be shown that the modernization of Buddhism, in a certain sense, formulated itself as a kind of modern “religiosity” through dealing with these two disparate aspects of “everydayness.”

This study aimed to develop a conversion table for the Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-J) to the Japanese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-J) to facilitate prediction of the MMSE-J score from the MoCA-J score. Participants (N = 121) were community-dwelling older adults (M = 74.12, SD = 4.73, age 61–84) who were able to visit the university laboratory alone, having no diagnosis of dementia. Their cognitive performance was assessed by MoCA-J and MMSE-J. We developed the MMSE-J conversion table from the row MoCA-J scores using the equipercentile equating with log-linear smoothing. A Bland-Altman plot displayed a nonsignificant systematic bias between the raw and converted MMSE scores. The conversion table presented high accuracy, with 85.8% of converted MMSE-J scores falling within two points of raw scores. In addition, our conversion table demonstrated the advantage of using the MoCA-J for early detection of cognitive decline.

As communication tools have shifted to Social Networking Services (SNS) in recent years, especially among the younger generation, the use of text-based online counseling services has spread rapidly in Japan. With this shift, SNS counseling is now mainly provided by temporarily trained paraprofessionals and non-professionals under the supervision of more experienced professionals, and there is an urgent need to train counselors with high levels of expertise. However, there is a great lack of basic research in Japan, even for empirical findings on rough indicators that distinguish highly specialized counseling from non-specialized counseling. In this study, we conducted a role-play survey of SNS counseling and examined how the counselor’s attitude of “listening” appears, using message volume and session evaluations as analytical indices. The results revealed that there were two main features of the “listening” attitude in SNS counseling. In SNS counseling, counselors need to talk more than in face-to-face counseling to understand the situation and to clearly express empathy, while providing a place where the client can talk freely and a lot. SNS counselors are expected to take a seemingly contradictory, therefore difficult, way of being. Although the basic essence of the “listening” attitude is the same between SNS consultation and face-to-face psychotherapy, the actual expression of this attitude is different, and this suggestion is probably the most significant point of this study.

Japan’s burgeoning demand for nurses due to its aging society has resulted in a severe shortage thereof, leading to an increase in the recruitment of foreign nurses. Chinese nurses account for a large proportion of foreign nurses in Japan, especially for male nurses. This study aimed to understand the unique challenges faced by Chinese male nurses in the Japanese healthcare system. The interviews were conducted in Chinese via Zoom, with each participant interviewed once for an average of 90 minutes. The data were analysed qualitatively and inductively, providing a comprehensive understanding of the unique challenges faced by foreign-educated male nurses (N = 16). The analysis revealed five major challenges faced by Chinese male nurses in adapting to the Japanese healthcare system: 1) cultural and work adaptation, 2) knowledge and skills, 3) work environment and satisfaction, 4) discrimination, 5) discrepancy between professional expectations and actual experiences. Additionally, emotional and psychological challenges such as loneliness, stress, anxiety, and depression were found to impact job performance, satisfaction, and quality of life. The study is unique in focusing on foreign male nurses in Asia, addressing a void in the relevant literature. Chinese male nurses in Japan are presented with novel opportunities and experiences, and yet confront challenges due to disparities in culture, skills, gender, ethnicity, and professional expectations. Suggested interventions encompass specialized training, mentorship programs, cultural exchange initiatives, and policies aimed at mitigating workplace discrimination and enhancing job satisfaction.