“Continuing Bonds with deceased” is recently one of the most remarkable concepts in the field of grief counseling and grief therapy. It can be said that most Japanese routinely accept this concept that the bereaved remained connected with the deceased. But, at many Japanese metropolises, ancestor worshipping belief affirming the presence of deceased may lose substance. So, in Japan, people may take “Continuing Bonds” differently depending on the area. The purpose of his study is to weigh characteristics of undergraduates’ attitudes toward relationships with the deceased, covering undergraduates at the Tsugaru area where ancestor worshipping belief may become well-established and undergraduates at Hokkaido where such belief may be spread thinly. Twelve undergraduates at the Tsugaru area and 14 undergraduates at Hokkaido participated in semi-structured interviews. Based on the collected data, the timing and manner of worship were examined, and further analysis of the nature of the deceased was conducted using the KJ method. The results revealed regional differences in both the timing and manner of worship. Additionally, regarding the nature of the deceased, four common major categories were identified across regions: affirmation of the afterlife, denial of the afterlife, the deceased as memories, and uncertainty about the afterlife. However, variations were observed in the content and frequency of occurrences. These differences were analyzed from the perspective of the influence of regional culture.

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As securing and retaining childcare personnel has become a critical social issue, there is a growing need to reconsider work environments to respect diversity. However, strict appearance norms remain prevalent in childcare practicums, imposing psychological burdens on students. This study aimed to examine how students in childcare training programs make sense of their experiences and develop professional recognition when confronted with appearance-related norms during practicums. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight students, and the data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Four categories were identified: (1) acceptance of norms alongside recognition of their unreasonableness, (2) discrepancies between prior instruction and workplace practices, (3) burdens imposed by these norms and their influence on career decisions, and (4) exploration of ideal childcare worker images. While students accepted functional and rational aspects of norms, they also experienced strong discomfort and emotional distress due to uniform guidance and inconsistencies with practice. These norms not only imposed economic and psychological burdens but also potentially caused fluctuations in their motivation to enter the childcare profession. However, students also attempted to navigate these conflicts, envisioning childcare workers who respect diversity and move beyond gendered expectations. These findings suggest that appearance norms should be reconsidered not as an individual adaptation issue but as a structural challenge for the childcare sector as a whole, highlighting the need for a shift toward flexible, dialogic guidance that balances functionality with aesthetic freedom.

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Background: Reasonable accommodation for university students with developmental disabilities has increasingly attracted attention. While it has traditionally been discussed within the framework of support, its institutional and environmental aspects require further examination.

Objective: This study aimed to clarify changes in research trends on reasonable accommodation by comparing pre- and post-COVID-19 periods.

Methods: Article abstracts published in 2016–2019 and from 2022 onward were analyzed using text mining, including co-occurrence network analysis and multidimensional scaling.

Results: Core terms such as “students,” “support,” and “disability” remained consistent across periods. However, in the post-COVID period, terms such as “accommodation,” “environment,” and “needs” increased, indicating a growing emphasis on environmental adjustment. Research topics also became more differentiated into institutional, individualized, and analytical perspectives. Reasonable accommodation, previously treated as part of “support,” was increasingly associated with “provision” and “system development,” suggesting its institutional positioning, although overlap with support remained.

Conclusion: Reasonable accommodation is becoming more clearly positioned not only as individualized support but also as a process involving environmental adjustment and institutional responses.

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Small and medium-sized hospitals in rural Japan face chronic staff shortages and high turnover, making it urgent to identify the factors that sustain healthcare professionals' working lives. This study examined the structure of Sustainable Quality of Working Life (S-QWL) among healthcare professionals employed at a small and medium-sized hospital specializing in rehabilitation medicine in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. A survey was conducted with 165 hospital employees, and the data were analyzed using correlation analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicated that the structure of QWL differed qualitatively across occupational categories. Among physicians, congruence with work purpose and the meaningfulness of work were associated with higher Job Match–Performance (JM-P) and General Satisfaction (GS). SEM suggested that age and gender were associated with interpersonal relationships within the organization. Correlation analysis further showed that financial rewards had no significant association with other variables, suggesting that physicians' QWL may be primarily shaped by intrinsic motivation. Among nursing professionals, all four hypothesized models showed acceptable fit, and work–life balance (WLB) functioned as a central factor supporting self-esteem and overall QWL. In particular, communication with supervisors and colleagues was associated with self-esteem via WLB. Among rehabilitation professionals, training programs and a sense of personal growth were associated with a wide range of variables, indicating a QWL structure centered on motivation for professional development. In contrast, care workers showed the lowest QWL scores among all occupational groups, and health status was strongly associated with their QWL. These findings suggest the need for human resource management strategies tailored to the characteristics of each occupational category.

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This study examines the developmental trajectory of children’s acquisition of number concepts by integrating classical theories of cognitive development with recent findings from neuroscience and linguistics. To this end, relevant studies were systematically collected from major academic databases (e.g., PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and J-STAGE) and analyzed using a comparative framework based on a concept matrix approach. While traditional interpretations based on Piaget’s stage theory have emphasized qualitative shifts in numerical understanding, contemporary research indicates that number concepts emerge earlier and develop more continuously than previously assumed. Specifically, numerical cognition is understood to progress from an approximate, nonverbal number sense (the Approximate Number System: ANS) to exact, language-mediated numerical understanding. Recent empirical studies further demonstrate that linguistic experiences, such as the acquisition of number words and vocabulary development, play a critical role in shaping the development of numerical concepts. In addition, neuroscientific evidence shows that brain regions involved in numerical processing, including the parietal cortex and prefrontal areas, undergo developmental changes that correspond to increasing sophistication in numerical cognition. Taken together, these findings suggest that the acquisition of number concepts is supported by multiple interacting factors across cognitive, linguistic, social, and neural domains. From this integrative perspective, the present study highlights the importance of early numeracy education and underscores the need for a comprehensive understanding of number concept development that bridges cognitive, linguistic, and neurodevelopmental approaches.

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