Why Is There No Harvard Among Japanese Private Universities?

The social and academic reputation of private universities in Japan is generally far behind the national universities. We argue that heavy subsidy and the low tuition of national universities determined by the central government are both responsible for making the production of high academic quality difficult for private universities in equilibrium. Using several simulations based on a theoretical model of assignment of heterogeneous students and universities with respect to tuition and educational quality, we show that the distribution of tuitions and academic quality of private universities are affected by the low tuition and heavy subsidy policy of national university. Using the cross-section data of all universities in Japan, we present empirical evidence on the determinants of tuition of private universities that support our theoretical predictionEmpirical analysis of Japanese economy, Demand for education quality, Assignment model

Perceived environmental factors associated with obesity in Libyan men and women

Background: There is a lack of research pertaining to the links between built environment attributes and obesity in adults in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. In the Libyan context, no previous studies have been conducted to investigate this relationship. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine associations between perceived neighbourhood built environmental attributes and obesity among Libyan men and women. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was also assessed. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used for the population-based survey in Benghazi, Libya. A multi-stage cluster sampling technique was used to select Libyan adults from the Benghazi electoral register. The Physical Activity Neighbourhood Environment Scale (PANES) was used to measure participants’ perception of neighbourhood environmental factors. Using the Tanita BC-601 Segmental Body Composition Monitor and a portable stadiometer, anthropometric measurements were taken at a mutually agreeable place by qualified nurses. Results: Four hundred and one Libyan adults were recruited (78% response rate). Participants were aged 20–65 years, 63% were female, and all had lived in Benghazi for over 10 years. The prevalence of obesity and overweight was 42.4% and 32.9% respectively. A significant association was found between BMI and 6 neighbourhood environment attributes, specifically: street connectivity, unsafe environment and committing crimes at night, and neighbourhood aesthetics. For men only, these were: access to public transport, access to recreational facilities, and unsafe environment and committing crimes during the day. The attribute ‘residential density zones’ was only significant for women. Conclusions: The study suggests that Libyan people are at risk of living in neighbourhoods with unsupportive environmental features of physical activity, which are likely to promote obesity of both genders. The findings of this study could inform Libyan health policies about interventions in the obesogenic environments that might slow the obesity epidemic and contain the public health crisis. This study suggests that further research is needed, within the Libyan context, to explore the impact of the neighbourhood environment attributes on contributing to increased obesity

Perspectives on advance directives in Japanese society: A population-based questionnaire survey

BACKGROUND: In Japan, discussion concerning advance directives (ADs) has been on the rise during the past decade. ADs are one method proposed to facilitate the process of communication among patients, families and health care providers regarding the plan of care of a patient who is no longer capable of communicating. In this paper, we report the results of the first in-depth survey on the general population concerning the preferences and use of ADs in Japan. METHOD: A self-administered questionnaire was sent via mail to a stratified random sampling of 560 residents listed in the residential registry of one district of Tokyo, Japan (n = 165,567). Association between correlating factors and specific preferences toward ADs was assessed using contingency table bivariate analysis and multivariate regression model to estimate independent contribution. RESULTS: Of the 560 questionnaires sent out, a total of 425 participants took part in the survey yielding a response rate of 75.9 %. The results of the present study indicate that: 1) the most important components to be addressed are the specifics of medical treatment at the end of life stage and disclosure of diagnosis and prognosis; 2) the majority of participants found it suitable to express their directives by word to family and/or physician and not by written documentation; 3) there is no strong need for legal measures in setting up an AD; 4) it is permissible for family and physician to loosely interpret one's directives; 5) the most suitable proxy is considered to be a family member, relative, or spouse. Multivariate analysis found the following five factors as significantly associated with preferences: 1) awareness regarding living wills, 2) experience with the use of ADs, 3) preferences for end-of-life treatment, 4) preferences for information disclosure, and 5) intentions of creating a will. CONCLUSIONS: Written ADs might be useful in the Japanese setting when the individual either wishes: 1) to not provide a lot of leeway to surrogates and/or caregivers, and/or 2) to ensure his or her directives in the cases of terminal illness, brain death, and pain treatment, as well as regarding information disclosure

Do Education Vouchers Prevent Dropouts at Private High Schools? Evidence from Japanese Policy Changes (Japanese)

Although education voucher programs for students attending private high schools have existed in Japan for decades, as yet there have been no studies that examine their effectiveness. In this paper, we estimate the programs' preventative effect on dropouts using school-track level (academic or vocational) panel data covering all high schools in northern Japan. Facing increasing dropouts due to financial difficulties, prefectural governments have expanded the scope and amount of their private high school tuition support programs since the late 1990s. We use this variation to identify the effect of tuition support on students' decision to dropout, controlling for initial ability of entering students as well as unobservable school-track effects. We also apply the instrumental variable method to account for the possible endogeneity of policy changes. Our results suggest that increasing tuition support is particularly effective in preventing dropouts of private high school students in nonacademic tracks.

Discovery and informing research participants of incidental findings detected in brain magnetic resonance imaging studies : Review and multi‐institutional study

Background: Brain imaging studies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI ) sometimes reveal incidental findings (IFs) that might be relevant to some of the health issues in research participants. Although professional communities have discussed how to manage these IFs, there is no global consensus on the concrete handling procedures including how to inform participants of IFs. Methods: First, this study reviewed previous studies for the number of IFs discovered in brain imaging studies using MEDLINE. Second, a multi‐institutional study determined the number of IF discoveries and evaluated the method of informing participants at multiple institutions, which participated in a national brain science project in Japan. Results: Both the review and multi‐institutional study showed that IFs with a high urgency level were discovered in 0–2.0% of participants, including healthy volunteers, and that the rate of IF discovery in general was higher in studies conducted in elderly population. Moreover, multi‐institutional study suggested the criteria used to judge whether or not to inform participants of IFs may differ by institution. Conclusions: Our results suggest that in order to ensure informing the participants of high urgency IFs, physicians who are capable of interpreting brain images clinically should review all brain images, and the establishment of a support system is required for brain imaging studies at nonmedical institutions. Since the method of informing participants of IFs might affect their understanding and acceptance of IFs, which are related to managing risks of false “clean bill of health” or psychological impacts of informing IFs, further research focusing on communication of IFs is needed

大学における環境マネジメントに関する考察

大学における環境マネジメントのあり方について、その理念、促進要因、ISO14001認証とその効果、ISO14001認証を取得した大学のその後の動向、最近の実施例、諸外国における動向を分析・考察した。その結果認証の継続にあまりこだわることなく「正の環境側面」を増進させて行くことが今後も重要であるとの結論に達した

東日本大震災における大学の事業継続 リスクマネジメントに関する考察

東日本大震災において大学にどの様な被害があり、緊急対策等をどの様に実施して事業継続リスクの低減が行われたかについて、東北地方被災３県の四年制大学について調査分析した。その結果大学の被害は比較的軽微であり、事業継続上のリスクにもほぼ正しく対処し、復興支援にも積極的に関与して大学の社会的責任を果たしている事がわかった。しかし今回顕在化した課題・問題点もあり、それらについて対策を検討し、今後引き続き起こると見られる大規模地震の際の事業継続リスクマネジメントのあり方について考察した

東日本大震災における自治体のディザスタ・リカバリに関する考察

東日本大震災で住基・戸籍の両重要データが同時に失われた自治体におけるディザスタ・リカバリの実際について検証し、今後必要となる措置・対策に関する考察を行った。震災の経験に基づいて戸籍については国全体でバックアップデータを保持する仕組みが構築された。住基については自治体の状況によって媒体二重保管、レプリケーション、クラウドという対処方法があるが、広域同時災害に対処するにはその上で国または都道府県レベルでの集中バックアップ体制の構築が効果的であると考えられた

大学経営における事業継続リスクに関する考察

一般企業で重要視されつつある事業継続リスクマネジメントを大学経営に適用した場合の、リスクの種類・内容、優先順位の考え方、リスク分析、リスク対策、リスクマンジメント組織、評価改善のあり方について、大学経営の特性を踏まえつつ、内外の事例を参考に考察を行った