Pupil Insights into School Bullying: A Cross-National Perspective between England and Japan

The research presented in this thesis focused on cross-national comparisons of secondary school pupils' understanding of and attitudes towards school bullying / ijime. In the first study, interviews with 121 12-15-year-old Japanese and English secondary school children were conducted to evaluate the depth and diversity of children's understanding of the nature of bullying / ijime. Attitudes towards bullying / ijime, and to school-based interventions were also examined. In the second study, a survey of 1,967 Japanese and English secondary school children was conducted to evaluate their understanding of different forms of bullying / ijime behaviour, and their friendship formations. The interviews revealed that compared to bullying in U.K, ijime in Japan was seen as more weighted towards verbal and indirect (rather than physical) aggression, that causes victims more often psychological suffering, and is more characteristic of within-grade relationships rather than an older pupil bullying a younger one. As useful coping strategies for the victim, while English pupils consider indirect actions such as 'seeking help from others' to be very useful, more direct actions such as 'fighting back' and 'telling bullies to stop it' are considered more useful by Japanese pupils. The majority of pupils in England had very positive views of school based intervention and teachers' and parents' involvement to tackle the problem, whereas considerable number of pupils in Japan had reluctant and negative attitudes to it. The survey revealed findings consistent with the first study regarding pupils' understanding of bullying / ijime behaviour. It also found that compared to English pupils, who form their friendships equally with pupils in different year groups as well as those in the same year group, Japanese pupils form friendships based, to a large extent, on the class they belong to. This difference of friendship formation seems partly to stem from the different education systems in England and Japan, which in tum, influence pupil's perceptions and understanding of the nature of bullying / ijime

An Analysis of Differences in the Role of Friendships and the School Class in Children’s Perceptions of Bullying in England and Ijime in Japan: A Translation and Expansion of Kanetsuna (2009)

This is an English translation with some expansion of the article originally published in Japanese as a university bulletin in 2009. Previous research has found both differences and similarities between ijime in Japan and bullying in England. Bullying is often by pupils in different classes or higher year groups whom the victim does not know very well; ijime is often by victims’ classmates whom the victim knows very well. However, it has not been shown whether these differences are found for all types of bullying, or how they relate to friendships generally and the impact of differing school systems. We aimed to see whether previously found differences between ijime and bullying could be replicated, and, if so, whether they held for six different types of victimization, and whether friendship characteristics were consistent with explaining why they occur. To investigate the role of friendships and their location, 1036 Japanese and 931 English secondary school pupils participated in a comparative study of perceptions of bullying and ijime. The previous differences were confirmed and found to hold irrespective of type of bullying. Japanese pupils mainly formed friendships on a class basis, English pupils on a broader basis including pupils in different years. In school, English pupils spent much time in the playground with their friends and saw this as a likely venue for bullying, whereas Japanese pupils spent more time in the classroom and saw this as a likely venue for ijime. The difference in friendship formation, together with differences in the organization of class-based teaching in the two countries, are hypothesized to play a significant role in explaining some differences between bullying and ijime

Prevention of ophthalmia neonatorum caused by 'Neisseria gonorrhoea' using a fatty acid-based formulation

Ophthalmia neonatorum, also called neonatal conjunctivitis, acquired during delivery can occur in the first 28 days of life. Commonly caused by the bacterial pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae, infection can lead to corneal scarring, perforation of the eye, and blindness. One approach that can be taken to prevent the disease is the use of an ophthalmic prophylaxis, which kills the bacteria on the surface of the eye shortly after birth. Current prophylaxes are based on antibiotic ointments. However, N. gonorrhoeae is resistant to many antibiotics and alternative treatments must be developed before the condition becomes untreatable. This study focused on developing a fatty acid-based prophylaxis. For this, 37 fatty acids or fatty acid derivatives were screened in vitro for fast antigonococcal activity. Seven candidates were identified as bactericidal at 1 mM. These seven were subjected to irritation testing using three separate methods: the bovine corneal opacity and permeability (BCOP) test; the hen’s egg test—chorioallantoic membrane (HET-CAM); and the red blood cell (RBC) lysis assay. The candidates were also tested in artificial tear fluid to determine whether they were effective in this environment. Four of the candidates remained effective. Among these, two lead candidates, monocaprin and myristoleic acid, displayed the best potential as active compounds in the development of a fatty acid-based prophylaxis for prevention of ophthalmia neonatorum

Reduction in Basal Nitric Oxide Activity Causes Albuminuria

OBJECTIVE-The barrier function of the glomerular filter has been studied for decades. Albuminuria reflects a malfunction of this barrier, and in animals dysfunctional endothelial nitric-oxide (NO) synthase results in albuminuria. We aimed to analyze the importance of NO for the glomerular barrier function in humans. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-To assess the effect of endothelial dysfunction on albuminuria, we measured the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) both before and after the blockade of NO synthases (NOSs) with systemic infusion of N-G-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) in two distinct study populations. In population A, 62 hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes and, in population B, 22 patients with hypercholesterolemia but without hypertension or type 2 diabetes were examined. All subjects had normal renal function. RESULTS-There was a significant increase in the UACR in response to NOS inhibition with L-NMMA in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes (study population A) and in patients with hypercholesterolemia (study population B). Linear regression analyses revealed that the change in mean arterial presssure in response to L-NMMA was not related to the increase in the UACR in response to L-NMMA in either population, even after adjusting for filtration fraction. CONCLUSIONS-NOS inhibition provokes albuminuria that is unrelated to changes in blood pressure. It is noteworthy that this finding was evident in patient groups prone to endothelial dysfunction and albuminuria. Thus, acute deterioration of endothelial function by reducing NO activity causes an increase in albuminuria. Diabetes 60:572-576, 201

心理学に対する期待及び大学の専攻動機の変化過程に関する調査研究

関西圏私立四年制大学在籍の学生187名を対象とした『大学において「心理学」を学ぶことの期待』に関する質問紙調査,及び同20名を対象とした『大学の専攻動機と,その変化過程』に関する半構造化面接調査を実施した.心理学系学生は非心理学系学生に比べて,資格取得を心理学に期待する傾向や,他者の問題解決のための能力獲得を期待する傾向が示されたことから,心理学を学ぶことで臨床心理士をはじめとする対人援助職を志している可能性が推測された.一方面接調査において,「内的なもののため」という動機が心理学系学生にのみみられたことに加えて,「仕事のため」,「適性のため」という動機も,他者理解や他者援助が主軸として置かれていたわけではないことから,動機の側面からみた心理学への期待は他者理解・他者援助よりもむしろ,自己理解・自己援助のためといえた.考察では,これらの質問紙調査と面接調査の結果の矛盾について検討した

心理学に対する専攻動機と期待に関する調査研究

本研究の目的は,「1:専攻志望動機と専攻への期待について量的な検証が可能な尺度を作成すること」,「2:非心理学専攻学生との比較検討を行い,心理学専攻学生の専攻志望動機と専攻への期待について明らかにすること」の2つであった.検討の結果,まず専攻志望動機と専攻への期待について,一定の信頼性と妥当性が確認された尺度が作成された. また専攻志望動機については,「自他経験・問題解決」得点と「専門性獲得」因子が心理学専攻学生に有意に高いという結果が得られた.さらに心理学への期待についても,「自他理解・問題解決」得点と「専門性獲得」得点が心理学専攻学生に有意に高いという結果であった.これらのことから,心理学専攻学生は自他の否定的経験が契機となり,心理学を学ぶことで自己の問題解決を試みようとすること,そして他者の問題解決のための専門的スキルを獲得しようとするという筆者らの仮説がより支持されたと考えられた

The Fungal Cell Wall : Structure, Biosynthesis, and Function

N.G. is funded by the Wellcome Trust via a senior investigator award and a strategic award and by the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology. C.M. acknowledges the support of the Wellcome Trust and the MRC. N.G. and C.M. are part of the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology. J.P.L. acknowledges support from ANR, Aviesan, and FRM.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Awareness, Policy, Privacy, and More: Post-Secondary Students Voice Their Solutions to Cyberbullying

This paper discusses solutions to cyberbullying posed by post-secondary students from four Canadian universities. The qualitative data used in this analysis were drawn from one open-ended question on an online student survey completed by 1458 undergraduate students, as well as 10 focus group transcripts involving a total of 36 students. Seven key themes emerged: awareness and education; policy; protecting one’s privacy; technology-based solutions; empowering better choices and responses; university culture; and disciplinary measures. The findings show that post-secondary institutions need to make preventing and curtailing cyberbullying more of a priority within their campus communities, including engaging in responsive consultation with key stakeholder groups, such as students, to develop meaningful solutions

P. brasiliensis virulence is affected by SconC, the negative regulator of inorganic sulfur assimilation

Conidia/mycelium-to-yeast transition of Paracoccidioidesbrasiliensis is a critical step for the establishment of paracoccidioidomycosis, a systemic mycosis endemic in Latin America. Thus, knowledge of the factors that mediate this transition is of major importance for the design of intervention strategies. So far, the only known pre-requisites for the accomplishment of the morphological transition are the temperature shift to 37°C and the availability of organic sulfur compounds. In this study, we investigated the auxotrophic nature to organic sulfur of the yeast phase of Paracoccidioides, with special attention to P. brasiliensis species. For this, we addressed the role of SconCp, the negative regulator of the inorganic sulfur assimilation pathway, in the dimorphism and virulence of this pathogen. We show that down-regulation of SCONC allows initial steps of mycelium-to-yeast transition in the absence of organic sulfur compounds, contrarily to the wild-type fungus that cannot undergo mycelium-to-yeast transition under such conditions. However, SCONC down-regulated transformants were unable to sustain yeast growth using inorganic sulfur compounds only. Moreover, pulses with inorganic sulfur in SCONC down-regulated transformants triggered an increase of the inorganic sulfur metabolism, which culminated in a drastic reduction of the ATP and NADPH cellular levels and in higher oxidative stress. Importantly, the down-regulation of SCONC resulted in a decreased virulence of P. brasiliensis, as validated in an in vivo model of infection. Overall, our findings shed light on the inability of P. brasiliensis yeast to rely on inorganic sulfur compounds, correlating its metabolism with cellular energy and redox imbalances. Furthermore, the data herein presented reveal SconCp as a novel virulence determinant of P. brasiliensis.J.F.M. and J.G.R. were supported by a PhD grant from Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT). This work was supported by a grant from FCT (PTDC/BIA-MIC/108309/2008). M. Sturme. and M. Saraiva are Ciencia 2008 fellows. The authors would also like to thank FAPESP (Fundacao para Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo) and CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico) for financial support. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript