Letteratura scientifica selezionata sul tema "Inter-university Center for Japanese Language Studies"

Language skills are increasingly important as globalisation accelerates, necessitating an enhanced ability to communicate. Equally important is a deep understanding of cultures that can facilitate cross-cultural exchanges. At Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS), Japan, great importance is placed on the learning of languages and cultures, as well as acquiring the English language as a 'lingua franca', or bridge language. Professor Yukio Tono, who is director of Lingua, the World Language Center at TUFS, leads a project called CEFR-Jx28 that is seeking to align teaching materials, instruction and assessment to the CEFR-J for Japanese university students for English and 27 other foreign languages. As CEFR was developed in Europe, it is necessary to adjust the rubrics for second language learners whose first language is Japanese. A project, led by Professor Asako Yoshitomi, the director of the English Learning Center, is also underway to develop English speaking tasks based on CEFR-J that can be used for instruction and assessment. Professor Masashi Negishi and the research team are developing a speaking test called BCT-S (British Council TUFS-Speaking Test for Japanese Universities) that is used for selective assessment for university admission. The BCT-S is a localised version of the CEFR-based Aptis into a speaking test based on the CEFR-J. The progress of students at TUFS is recorded in an e-portfolio called 'TUFS Record' and a summary of the TUFS Record is issued as a diploma supplement.

The Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS) is a measure of depressive rumination which has two subscales: Brooding and Reflection. This article examines the longitudinal predictions for depression and the test-retest reliability of the Brooding and Reflection of the Japanese RRS. Japanese university students ( N = 378) completed the RRS, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and the Inventory to Diagnose Depression, Lifetime Version (IDDL) which was modified to assess symptoms experienced in the 8-wk. follow-up period. The standardized betas of the initial Brooding and Reflection subscales for the IDDL scores were significant and positive after controlling for baseline CES-D scores, but those for the CES-D scores at Time 2 were not significant. Longitudinal predictions of Brooding were partially consistent with those of other language versions (significant in almost all studies); however, longitudinal predictions of Reflection were not consistent with those of other language versions (negative in previous studies). The test-retest correlations of both subscales were similar to those obtained in Western countries.

- Peter Boomgaard, Simone Prodolliet, Händlerinnen, Goldgräber und Staatsbeamte; Sozialgeschichte einer Kleinstadt im Hochland Südwestsumatras. Berlin: Reimer, 1996, 372 pp. [Berner Sumatra-Forschungen.] - Richard Chauvel, Antje van der Hoek, Religie in Ballingschap; Institutionalisering en Leiderschap onder Christelijke en Islamitische Molukkers in Nederland. Amsterdam: VU Uitgeverij, 1994, 297 pp. - J.E. Lelijveld, Kees Groeneboer, Weg tot het Westen; Het Nederlands voor Indië 1600-1950. Leiden: KITLV Uitgeverij, 1993, xii + 580 pp. - Bernd Nothofer, P.W. Martin, Language Use & Language Change in Brunei Darussalam, Athens, OH: Ohio University Center for International Studies, 1996, xvi + 373 pp. [Monographs in International Studies 100.], C. Ozog, G. Poedjosoedarmo (eds.) - Anton Ploeg, Pamela Swadling, Plumes from Paradise; Trade cycles in outer Southeast Asia and their impact on New Guinea and nearby islands until 1920. With contributions by Roy Wagner and Billai Laba. Boroko/Coorparoo (Qld): Papua New Guinea National Museum in association with R. Brown & Ass. (Qld), 1996, 352 pp. Plates, maps, index. - Bernard Sellato, Traude Gavin, The women’s warpath; Iban ritual fabrics from Borneo, Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 1996, 99 pp. - Jyh Wee Sew, Malcom W. Mintz, A course in conversational Indonesian (with equivalent Malay vocabulary). Singapore: EPB Publishers, 1994, 558 pp. - Kees Snoek, Liesbeth Dolk, Twee Zielen, Twee Gedachten; Tijdschriften en Intellectuelen op Java (1900-1957), Leiden: KITLV Uitgeverij, 1993, 220 pp. - Nicholas Tarling, Paul H. Kratoska, Malaya and Singapore during the Japanese Occupation. Singapore: National University of Singapore, 1995, xii + 175 pp. [Journal of Southeast Asian Studies Special Publications Series 3.]

In order to understand the difficulties faced by highly skilled foreign professionals when dealing with the Japanese healthcare system and to identify the support they require therein, university health center staff members of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University conducted semi-structured interviews with faculty, staff, and students from the Institute. Data from the interviews were analyzed by subject matter analysis using a narrative-oriented approach. In total, 13 participants were interviewed, and five themes and 15 subthemes were generated from the 40 codes extracted. Although participants considered themselves to be accepting of other cultures and made little mention of the need for cultural and religious considerations that previous studies have identified as important, they reported that their experiences receiving healthcare in Japan were fraught with many difficulties. They felt that the capacity to communicate in Japanese was a prerequisite for receiving appropriate healthcare and that hospitals should assume the responsibility of providing language support. While they reported satisfaction with the easy and inexpensive access to advanced medical equipment and specialists in Japan, they also noted challenges in selecting medical institutions and departments, the flow and procedures in the hospital, and building open and direct relationships with doctors. In addition, based on the present study, people with chronic illnesses felt isolated from the community, worried about a lack of privacy, and wanted a primary care physician they could trust. In order to provide appropriate healthcare to foreigners, we require an accurate understanding of their needs, how to address these comprehensively and in a multifaceted manner, and how the communication responsibilities should be shared among the involved parties (i.e., foreign care recipients and Japanese medical professionals).

Objective: The tangram puzzle is a serious math puzzle game used to promote mathematic development in children, which improves visuospatial function and creativity. A game to improve cognitive functions is useful for patients with neurocognitive disorders. This pilot study aimed to determine whether this game could improve cognitive function in patients with neurocognitive disorders. Materials: This study recruited patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment who were followed longitudinally by the Department of Psychiatry, Juntendo University Hospital, or Juntendo Tokyo Koto Geriatric Medical Center (Tokyo, Japan). Methods: Participants were asked to solve Tangram puzzles 2–3 times weekly, spending 30–40 min/session at home with or without family members for approximately 90 (Study 1) or 180 (Study 2) days. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in Study 1 as well as a Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Trail Making Test in Study 2 were performed on the initial and final days. Results: Study 1 comprised eight participants and Study 2 comprised nine participants. Statistically significant improvement was observed in MMSE total score (p = 0.016) and orientation segment (p = 0.026) in Study 1. No statistically significant difference was noted in MMSE total score, orientation segment, or MoCA-J (Japanese version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment) score between the initial and final days in Study 2 (p = 0.764, p = 0.583, and p = 0.401, respectively). Conclusions: Study 1 revealed that Tangram puzzles may ameliorate the progression of cognitive functions in patients with neurocognitive disorders within a short time (3 months); however, Study 2 did not show a consistent result. Thus, randomized controlled trials are warranted to draw a conclusion.

The Centre for Applied Language Studies (CALS), founded in 1997, is a research centre within the School of Languages, Literature, Culture and Communication. It brings together researchers and postgraduate students from several disciplines within the School, which includes six languages: English (English Language Teaching and English Literature), French, German, Irish, Japanese and Spanish. The Centre provides a focus for research in applied language studies within the University and a focal point for national and international links. It also promotes the interaction of research and the application of language activities in areas such as language learning, corpus linguistics, language in society, and language planning and policy. CALS also has a number of associate members from other Irish and European universities who make an important contribution to the work of the Centre by co-supervising Ph.D. theses and collaborating in publications and events. The Centre currently has 65 members, including 21 Ph.D. students.

This qualitative study uses narrative inquiry (Connelly & Clandinin, 1988, 1990, 2001) and self-study to investigate ways to further understand and facilitate the integration of holistic philosophies of education with media literacy pedagogies. As founder and director of the Youth Media Literacy Project and a self-titled Imagitator (one who agitates imagination), I have spent over 10 years teaching media literacy in various high schools, universities, and community centres across North America. This study will focus on my own personal practical knowledge (Connelly & Clandinin, 1982) as a culture jammer, educator and cancer survivor to illustrate my original vision of a ‘holistic media literacy pedagogy’. This research reflects on the emergence and impact of holistic media literacy in my personal and professional life and also draws from relevant interdisciplinary literature to challenge and synthesize current insights and theories of media literacy, holistic education and culture jamming.

Economy and mankind are inextricably interlinked. Just as the economy or the production of material wealth is unimaginable without a man, so human existence and development are impossible without the wealth created in the economy. Shortly, both the goal and the means of achieving and realization of the economy are still the human resources. People have long ago noticed that it was the economy that created livelihoods, and the delays in their production led to the catastrophic events such as hunger, poverty, civil wars, social upheavals, revolutions, moral degeneration, and more. Therefore, the special interest of people in understanding the regulatory framework of the functioning of the economy has existed and exists in all historical epochs [A. Sisvadze. Economic theory. Part One. 2006y. p. 22]. The system of economic disciplines studies economy or economic activities of a society. All of them are based on science, which is currently called economic theory in the post-socialist space (the science of economics, the principles of economics or modern economics), and in most countries of the world - predominantly in the Greek-Latin manner - economics. The title of the present book is also Modern Economics. Economics (economic theory) is the science that studies the efficient use of limited resources to produce and distribute goods and services in order to satisfy as much as possible the unlimited needs and demands of the society. More simply, economics is the science of choice and how society manages its limited resources. Moreover, it should be emphasized that economics (economic theory) studies only the distribution, exchange and consumption of the economic wealth (food, beverages, clothing, housing, machine tools, computers, services, etc.), the production of which is possible and limited. And the wealth that exists indefinitely: no economic relations are formed in the production and distribution of solar energy, air, and the like. This current book is the second complete updated edition of the challenges of the modern global economy in the context of the coronary crisis, taking into account some of the priority directions of the country's development. Its purpose is to help students and interested readers gain a thorough knowledge of economics and show them how this knowledge can be applied pragmatically (professionally) in professional activities or in everyday life. To achieve this goal, this textbook, which consists of two parts and tests, discusses in simple and clear language issues such as: the essence of economics as a science, reasons for origin, purpose, tasks, usefulness and functions; Basic principles, problems and peculiarities of economics in different economic systems; Needs and demand, the essence of economic resources, types and limitations; Interaction, mobility, interchangeability and efficient use of economic resources. The essence and types of wealth; The essence, types and models of the economic system; The interaction of households and firms in the market of resources and products; Market mechanism and its elements - demand, supply and price; Demand and supply elasticity; Production costs and the ways to reduce them; Forms of the market - perfect and incomplete competition markets and their peculiarities; Markets for Production Factors and factor incomes; The essence of macroeconomics, causes and importance of origin; The essence and calculation of key macroeconomic indicators (gross national product, gross domestic product, net national product, national income, etc.); Macroeconomic stability and instability, unemployment, inflation and anti-inflationary policies; State regulation of the economy and economic policy; Monetary and fiscal policy; Income and standard of living; Economic Growth; The Corona Pandemic as a Defect and Effect of Globalization; National Economic Problems and New Opportunities for Development in the conditions of the Coronary Crisis; The Socio-economic problems of moral obsolescence in digital technologies; Education and creativity are the main solution way to overcome the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus; Positive and negative effects of tourism in Georgia; Formation of the middle class as a contributing factor to the development of tourism in Georgia; Corporate culture in Georgian travel companies, etc. The axiomatic truth is that economics is the union of people in constant interaction. Given that the behavior of the economy reflects the behavior of the people who make up the economy, after clarifying the essence of the economy, we move on to the analysis of the four principles of individual decision-making. Furtermore, the book describes how people make independent decisions. The key to making an individual decision is that people have to choose from alternative options, that the value of any action is measured by the value of what must be given or what must be given up to get something, that the rational, smart people make decisions based on the comparison of the marginal costs and marginal returns (benefits), and that people behave accordingly to stimuli. Afterwards, the need for human interaction is then analyzed and substantiated. If a person is isolated, he will have to take care of his own food, clothes, shoes, his own house and so on. In the case of such a closed economy and universalization of labor, firstly, its productivity will be low and, secondly, it will be able to consume only what it produces. It is clear that human productivity will be higher and more profitable as a result of labor specialization and the opportunity to trade with others. Indeed, trade allows each person to specialize, to engage in the activities that are most successful, be it agriculture, sewing or construction, and to buy more diverse goods and services from others at a relatively lower price. The key to such human interactions is that trade is mutually beneficial; That markets are usually the good means of coordination between people and that the government can improve the results of market functioning if the market reveals weakness or the results of market functioning are not fair. Moroever, it also shows how the economy works as a whole. In particular, it is argued that productivity is a key determinant of living standards, that an increase in the money supply is a major source of inflation, and that one of the main impediments to avoiding inflation is the existence of an alternative between inflation and unemployment in the short term, that the inflation decrease causes the temporary decline in unemployement and vice versa. The Understanding creatively of all above mentioned issues, we think, will help the reader to develop market economy-appropriate thinking and rational economic-commercial-financial behaviors, to be more competitive in the domestic and international labor markets, and thus to ensure both their own prosperity and the functioning of the country's economy. How he/she copes with the tasks, it is up to the individual reader to decide. At the same time, we will receive all the smart useful advices with a sense of gratitude and will take it into account in the further work. We also would like to thank the editor and reviewers of the books. Finally, there are many things changing, so it is very important to realize that the XXI century has come: 1. The century of the new economy; 2. Age of Knowledge; 3. Age of Information and economic activities are changing in term of innovations. 1. Why is the 21st century the century of the new economy? Because for this period the economic resources, especially non-productive, non-recoverable ones (oil, natural gas, coal, etc.) are becoming increasingly limited. According to the World Energy Council, there are currently 43 years of gas and oil reserves left in the world (see “New Commersant 2007 # 2, p. 16). Under such conditions, sustainable growth of real gross domestic product (GDP) and maximum satisfaction of uncertain needs should be achieved not through the use of more land, labor and capital (extensification), but through more efficient use of available resources (intensification) or innovative economy. And economics, as it was said, is the science of finding the ways about the more effective usage of the limited resources. At the same time, with the sustainable growth and development of the economy, the present needs must be met in a way that does not deprive future generations of the opportunity to meet their needs; 2. Why is the 21st century the age of knowledge? Because in a modern economy, it is not land (natural resources), labor and capital that is crucial, but knowledge. Modern production, its factors and products are not time-consuming and capital-intensive, but science-intensive, knowledge-intensive. The good example of this is a Japanese enterprise (firm) where the production process is going on but people are almost invisible, also, the result of such production (Japanese product) is a miniature or a sample of how to get the maximum result at the lowest cost; 3. Why is the 21st century the age of information? Because the efficient functioning of the modern economy, the effective organization of the material and personal factors of production largely depend on the right governance decision. The right governance decision requires prompt and accurate information. Gone are the days when the main means of transport was a sailing ship, the main form of data processing was pencil and paper, and the main means of transmitting information was sending letters through a postman on horseback. By the modern transport infrastructure (highways, railways, ships, regular domestic and international flights, oil and gas pipelines, etc.), the movement of goods, services and labor resoucres has been significantly accelerated, while through the modern means of communication (mobile phone, internet, other) the information is spreading rapidly globally, which seems to have "shrunk" the world and made it a single large country. The Authors of the book: Ushangi Samadashvili, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University - Introduction, Chapters - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11,12, 15,16, 17.1,18 , Tests, Revaz Shengelia, Doctor of Economics, Professor of Georgian Technical University, Chapters_7, 8, 13. 14, 17.2, 17.4; Zhuzhuna Tsiklauri - Doctor of Economics, Professor of Georgian Technical University - Chapters 13.6, 13.7,17.2, 17.3, 18. We also thank the editor and reviewers of the book.

A new language-based global undergraduate mechanical engineering education program is being developed to produce “globally educated” mechanical engineers ready for practice in the 21st century. The Global Education Program is accomplished through partnerships established with middle and high schools, companies, a network of international engineering schools and Michigan State University. Typically the incoming students have studied French, Spanish, or German, but we also find students in increasing numbers who have had Japanese and Chinese. The MSU Mechanical Engineering Global Education Program begins by partnering with key middle and high schools for recruiting of top quality, properly prepared students. At Michigan State University during the first two years they complete their language preparation and their cultural awareness preparation. In the third year the students study and co-op abroad. In the fourth year the students serve as mentors to underclass students in the program. Industrial partners participate by sponsoring students, recommending international academic partners, helping in the development of curriculum, and by providing co-op opportunities. This partnership for education program has the long term goal of involving 50% of the MSU Mechanical Engineering BS graduates in a global education experience.

The article analyzes the perception of Japan in the middle of the 19th century through the eyes of the Russian writer Ivan Goncharov. As secretary of Yevfimiy Putyatin’s mission (who concluded the first Russian-Japanese treaty in 1855), he kept travel notes, which later turned into a famous essay about a trip to Japan. The study is based on a rare edition of “Russians in Japan”, published in 1855, a few years before the appearance of the famous book “Frigate Pallada”. Goncharov’s notes marked the beginning of a new stage of awareness about Japan in the Russian Empire. His impressions added new colors to the portrayal of the country of Rising Sun, which Russians already knew from notes about the captivity of Vasily Golovnin (1816) and the three-volume work of the famous German Japanologist Philipp Franz von Siebold (1854). The valuable edition of Goncharov’s notes from the Library of the Faculty of Asian and African Studies of St. Petersburg State University (with an inscription from the author to Putyatin) differs from the text in the “Frigate Pallada” that was subjected to severe revision. Unlike this later version, this one, in many ways, resembles the unredacted travel notes made by Gonncharov during the Putyatin’s mission. Also, Iosif Goshkevich, who mastered the Japanese language during his stay in the country, accompanied Yevfimiy Putyatin as an interpreter. “Russian-Japanese Dictionary” (in fact, it is a Japanese-Russian dictionary) was published by him in collaboration with Tachibana Kosai in 1857. Two copies of this dictionary are available in the faculty’s Library (with autographs). One was a gift from Nicholas of Japan, and another - from the faculty teacher Kurono Yoshibumi. The authors aim to familiarize the general public with these rarities of the Library, which date back to the time of the conclusion of the first treaty between Russia and Japan and are directly related to the beginning of Russia’s in-depth acquaintance with Japan.