An Analysis of Interaction during Electronic Conferences in Higher Education

大学教育において， ネットワークを利用した実践が盛んになっている．本論文では，8大学が参加した遠隔協同講義実践を対象にその報告をおこなう．この実践では，電子会議室において学生同士や教員と学生が議論する場が設けられていた．ここでは，質的な研究方法を用いて，その電子会議室における学生の議論への参入と離脱，また議論の展開を分析することから，電子会議室の利用における課題と一提案をおこなう．This paper describes the use of electronic conferencing systems in distance learning environments. Using qualitative methodology, such as participant observation and unstructured interviews, the authors analyze interactions among students and professors to determine how they communicate in electronic conferences. The following points were found in the analysis: 1) since students with different specialties joined the conference, they can deepen their discussion about multimedia; 2) students make up their minds to participate in the class actively so that they reflect on the lecture and have more interaction with other students; 3) as many opinions were posted in the conference, students sometimes discuss topics unrelated to the conference and lose their objectives.本研究の一部は，文部省科学研究費助成基盤研究「情報教育におけるカリキュラムとコンテンツ開発に関する実証的研究」（代表：久保田賢一）によるものである

Nucleosynthesis Yields of Core-Collapse Supernovae and Hypernovae, and Galactic Chemical Evolution

We present new nucleosynthesis yields as functions of the stellar mass, metallicity, and explosion energy (corresponding to normal supernovae and Hypernovae). We apply the results to the chemical evolution of the solar neighborhood. Our new yields are based on the new developments in the observational/theoretical studies of supernovae (SNe) and extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars in the halo, which have provided excellent opportunities to test the explosion models and their nucleosynthesis. We use the light curve and spectra fitting of individual SN to estimate the mass of the progenitor, explosion energy, and produced 56Ni mass. Comparison with the abundance patterns of EMP stars has made it possible to determine the model parameters of core-collapse SNe, such as mixing-fallback parameters. More specifically, we take into account the two distinct new classes of massive SNe: 1) very energetic Hypernovae, whose kinetic energy (KE) is more than 10 times the KE of normal core-collapse SNe, and 2) very faint and low energy SNe (Faint SNe). These two new classes of SNe are likely to be ``black-hole-forming'' SNe with rotating or non-rotating black holes. Nucleosynthesis in Hypernovae is characterized by larger abundance ratios (Zn,Co,V,Ti)/Fe and smaller (Mn,Cr)/Fe than normal SNe, which can explain the observed trends of these ratios in EMP stars. Nucleosynthesis in Faint SNe is characterized by a large amount of fall-back, which explains the abundance pattern of the most Fe-poor stars. These comparisons suggest that black-hole-forming SNe made important contributions to the early Galactic (and cosmic) chemical evolution.Comment: To appear in Nuclear Physics A (Special Issue on Nuclear Astrophysics) eds. K. Langanke, F.-K. Thielemann, & M. Wiescher (2006), 36 page

Analysis of digital content for intercultural education in Japan -The current situation and new directions based on comparative cases from Korea, England, the U.S.A, France and Japan-

The purpose of this research is to analyze the current situation of digital content for intercultural education, to suggest new guidelines for intercultural education in Japan by comparing the cases of England, the U.S.A, France, Korea and international NGO. From this analysis and discussion, the authors suggest new guidelines for digital content in Japanese education. They are 1) to coordinate the digital content with the government\u27s curriculum guideline, 2) to motivate individuals to act as global citizens, 3) to work in closer cooperation with NGOs, and 4) to start from Japan\u27s own history, geographic situation and ethnic background. Following these suggested guidelines, we analyze NGO websites in order to create a Japanese web site for intercultural education. In analyzing NGO, the following 4 points are suggested: I) providing sufficient and reliable support for educators, 2) providing photos and video clips of children\u27s daily life, 3) introducing some methods for acting global citizens, 4) adding more information about existing NGOs