学生のアルバイト職場における労働安全衛生

健康管理という観点から学生アルバイト職場の労働安全衛生について調査した。調査は無記名の質問紙で、アルバイト就労状況、経済的な背景、アルバイト職場でのトラブル経験、アルバイトと学業や睡眠、労働法規の認知度、相談先についての質問とした。多くの学生がアルバイトに従事していた。様々なトラブルを多くの学生が経験しており、アルバイトをする限り何らかのトラブルに遭遇する可能性が高いということが示された。そのため、身体的、あるいは精神的にストレスがかかっていたり、睡眠不足となるなど労働安全衛生上の問題があった。しかし、経済的理由で辞めることができないとする学生が多かった。大学で可能な対策もあるが、大学のみでは学生のアルバイト職場での労働安全衛生環境を整えることはできない。学費・奨学金制度のほか、非正規雇用の拡大など、学生に大きな負担をかけている制度や社会の見直しが必要である。We conducted a survey of occupational safety and health at part time job among students of Nayoro City University in 2015. Among respondent students,73% had experience working part-time since admission to university. A sizable percentage of students have experienced a variety of psychological harassments and troubles at work. As a consequence, these students have suffered mental physical stress, and sustained sleep deprivation. Nevertheless, they indicated that it was impossible to quit their jobs because difficulties covering their tuition fees and living expenses. This survey revealed that safety and health at part-time jobs is a significant issue in the healthcare of university students. Health service centers in universities are not able to resolve these issues alone. Japanese social systems and practices that place excessive strain on university students, such as expensive academic fees, heavy student loans and an growing irregular employment system, need to be reconsidered and strategies for improvement discussed by those in positions to implement change

学生の入試成績,メンタルヘルス調査,Grade Point Average,国家資格取得相互の関係

【要旨】2012年度から2014年度入学生の学生の入試成績，メンタルヘルス調査，Grade Point Average（GPA），国家資格取得相互の関係を統計学的に分析した。入学年度，性別，保護者居住地により，入試成績，GPA，国家資格取得に差があった。学生を取り巻く環境が，学修姿勢に影響していると考えた。退学・除籍した学生はGPAが有意に低かった。GPAの低い学生には学修意欲を高める刺激が必要であろう。在学中の国家試験受験で資格を得たかに強く関連する要因は，入試成績，GPA，性別であった。GPAは様々な試験に対する強さを示す指標といえるかもしれない。しかし，本学の使命は学生に国家資格を取得させることだけではない。資格取得に強く関連するGPAのみで学生を評価することには慎重であるべきである。学年間のGPAの相関とトレンドは学科により異なるが，他大学の調査ほど顕著ではなかった。Abstract: We analyzed statistically the relationships among admission examination score, mental health checkup, Grade Point Average (GPA) and acquisition of national certification in undergraduate students admitted to the classes of 2012 to 2014. The admission examination score, GPA, and acquisition of national certification showed statistical difference among admission year, sex and hometown environments (which might influence students’ willingness to study). The GPAs of dropout or retired students were low. For such students, more effective stimuli to promote motivation for study is necessary. Acquisition of the national certification was significantly related to admission examination score, GPA and sex. The GPA might be a strong indicator of skill at taking exams. The academic mission of the university, however, is not only to have students acquire national certification. There is the need for greater caution about assessing students only by their GPA, which is strongly related to national certification. Though there are some differences between academic departments, the relationships between the GPA by cohort year, and GPA trends, were less notable than in previous studies at other universities

大学1年生のアセドアルデヒド脱水素酵素2表現型と飲酒についての意識調査 : 約10年間の動向

イッキ飲みによる急性アルコールによる死亡例が出るなど、飲酒は今なお大学生にとっては重大な健康問題である。そこで、1年生に対してアルコールへの強さについての体質を自覚してもらう調査と、アルコールに対する意識調査を実施し、あわせてアルコールと健康についての講義を実施した。調査結果を先行調査と比較し、約10年の動向について検討した。約半数に飲酒経験があり、高校生の調査と同様であった。飲酒頻度は先行調査から減少していた。TAST、パッチテストで調べたアルコールの強さの分布は先行調査とほぼ同じであった。イッキ飲み、イッキ飲ませ体験は、先行調査から明らかに減少していた。意識調査では、多くの学生が適切なアルコールとの付き合い方を理解していることが確認できた。 調査と講義の結果、アルコールとの適切な付き合い方をほぼ確認してもらえたと考える。今後も新入生に対し実施することが必要である。Binge drinking and subsequent acute alcoholic intoxication remains a serious issue in student health. We conducted a survey of physical susceptibility to alcohol and attitudes toward drinking among freshmen of Nayoro City University in 2013. Physical susceptibility to alcohol was assessed by an aldehyde dehydogenase 2 (ALDH2) phenotype screening test developed by The University of Tokyo, and an ethanol patch test. At the same time,students received a lecture about alcohol and health. Same as a previous survey of senior high school students in 2012, about half of students had experienced drinking alcohol however the frequency of drinking was significantly lower than in previous surveys of college students in 2007 and 2002. The ALDH2 phenotype distribution was similar to the previous surveys of college students. Experience of binge drinking and encouraging others to do so was significantly reduced. Replies to question about attitudes toward drinking indicate that most students recognize an appropriate manner of drinking. Results of this survey suggest that most students have an appropriate understanding of and attitude toward drinking. Annual surveys and lectures about alcohol and health for freshmen should be continu

Japanese loanword usage amongst second language students in Australia

L2 learners who have studied a language in a classroom setting often have a different pattern of usage from native speakers, and this is still the case amongst reasonably advanced learners who are able to communicate in the target language alone. This tendency is especially notable in an overseas setting, where L2 learners do not have much input outside the classroom. This study investigates the use of Japanese loanwords by L2 learners in an overseas setting, where the language norm is different from Japan. This study found that even in an overseas setting, L2 learners would prefer to use the authentic Japanese spoken in Japan as a model, although various overseas factors tend to encourage them to utilise more English words. Japanese native speakers’ evaluation of the use of such words was neutral overall, but there are various factors L2 learners should keep in mind when using Japanese loanwords. This study also confirms that the norm in an overseas contact situation is different from an authentic contact situation which is the pattern found in contact situations occurring in the home country

The use of Japanese particles by a bilingual child : is it Influenced by English?

By investigating the influence of a Japanese-English bilingual child's stronger language (English) over the production of her weaker language (Japanese), this study attempts to examine whether there is any evidence of English influence in the acquisition of Japanese particles. Previous studies suggest that bilingual children tend to follow the path of monolingual language acquisition, although there is some opposition to this theory. In the case of the child in this study, interference from English seems to be limited to the lexical level, as the syntactic features (including particles) seem to be governed by the Japanese rules. From an investigation of the child's use of particles, the data suggest that there is no strong evidence that her acquisition pattern has been influenced by English, even though English is her stronger language. It was, however, noted that this child was not following the exact acquisition patterns of monolingual children, either

The effects of input on a Japanese-English bilingual's acquisition of Japanese particles

This study attempts to establish the relationship between the input data of a Japanese mother and the output data of an English-Japanese bilingual child by investigating the subjects' use of Japanese particles. The participants in this study were a bilingual child and her Japanese mother who were living in Australia. The data was collected from natural conversations between mother and child which were tape-recorded every four weeks when the child was between the ages of 5;01 and 6;08. Previous studies in child language acquisition suggest that a child's production of particles may be directly correlated to the mother's input. If the hypothesis that children's utterances are modeled on input from their parents is correct, then the child in this study should have particle usage patterns that are similar to her mother's. Although the data in this study does show strong correlations between the mother's input and the child's output, it reveals that parental input was not the only influence on the output of the child's Japanese. It was found that the child did not simply mimic the patterns of her mother; some of her particle usages were different from her mother's, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Moreover, the child used avoidance strategies such as omitting a particle or substituting a different particle in order to get around having to use particles that she had not fully acquired. The differences between the child's particle usage and her mother's appeared to be the result of a lack of input variation rather than her bilinguality, since she had learned Japanese mostly from conversations with her mother, in contrast to monolingual Japanese children, who have a greater variety of input sources

Language mixing of the bilingual child : how significant is parental input?

This study examines the effect of parental input on a child’s language production by investigating the mixed utterances used by a Japanese–English bilingual child and her mother, using Japanese as the matrix language. The relationship between parental input and children’s output is a well-discussed topic in the literature. Some researchers have viewed parental input as having a direct effect on a child’s particular speech patterns. This view has been supported by several bilingual language mixing studies, as well as one study investigating monolingual children’s use of Japanese particles in narratives. Studies investigating the relationship between parental input and the frequency of that input have also confirmed that there seems to be a strong correlation between parental input and children’s output

Effects of online language testing on final examination

Many tertiary language courses have some online components as part of their blended learning initiatives. These online activities could be part of assessments, and online quizzes/tests can be used as preparation for the demanding final written examination. This study attempts to shed some light on the effects of online tests on final examination performance. Results obtained from beginners’ Japanese language students at a tertiary institute were examined by conducting three-way comparisons amongst the average scores and average number of attempts of the online tests, and the final examination score in order to ascertain the relationship between the number of attempts of online tests and the online test scores and the final examination scores. The results indicated that the number of attempts of quizzes cannot be used as an indicator of possible good final examination score, although the contents of quizzes and the final examination were closely related. In addition, although the online quizzes were created as preparation for the final examination, even the quiz average score cannot be the direct indicator for a successful final examination score

Is bilingual language development different from monolingual? : evidence from the use of ellipsis in narrative

The research literature comparing the language acquisition trajectory of monolingual and bilingual speakers has been inconclusive. Some studies have emphasised similarities between mono- and bilinguals. Others have argued for qualitative differences due to bilingual transfer from their participants’ other language. Some studies have even claimed that bilinguals’ weaker language may not develop fully despite initial similarities. This study revisits these fundamental questions of bilingualism by testing the use of ellipsis in monolingual and bilingual Japanese speakers. Experimental data were gathered by eliciting oral narratives based on a wordless picture book called ‘Frog, Where are You?’ from five groups of participants: Japanese monolingual and Japanese-English bilingual children aged 4–5 and 8–9-years-old, and Japanese monolingual adults who formed a control group. The results of this study suggest that the fundamental difference, at least in term of ellipsis usage, between mono- and bilinguals is quantitative rather than qualitative, and that this difference was found at an early stage of acquisition rather than only in the older age group

Employing Japanese popular culture materials in a Japanese language classroon : beyond textbook Japanese

Numerous aspects of foreign language learning in a classroom setting are not equivalent to learning a first language in a natural environment. In a classroom situation, learners study the target language in a distinctly artificial manner by using prescribed textbooks that are designed to introduce grammar in a systematic way. Vocabulary coverage is also carefully selected in each textbook, and assignments are commonly set within the range of previously introduced grammar and vocabulary. Moreover, the input that learners receive from teachers is also controlled in a classroom setting as found in previous studies in the areas of foreigner and teacher talk