TEACHERS’ INSIGHTS ON THE JAPAN-AUSTRALIA PRIMARY SCHOOL VIRTUAL EXCHANGE PROJECT

Research Objectives In 2022, an intercultural virtual exchange (VE) project between Japanese and Australian primary schools was conducted. Students engaged in activities such as exchanging self-introduction video clips and commenting on counterparts’ clips through Padlet. This study aimed to evaluate teachers’ perspectives on the VE project, uncovering successful aspects and pedagogical issues from the viewpoints of language teachers. The research highlights the transformative potential of technology in promoting intercultural education and underscores the need for teacher collaboration in educational practices.   Methodology The study utilized a qualitative approach, conducting semi-structured interviews with two teachers who participated in the intercultural VE project. The interviews focused on the successful aspects and challenges of the project. The collected data were manually analyzed using a comparative analysis approach to identify key themes and pedagogical challenges.   Findings The findings revealed several similarities: Both teachers expressed high satisfaction with the project, emphasized the importance of ongoing interactions, acknowledged initial challenges, and found the experience rewarding. Identified issues included difficulties in aligning school schedules, managing the time-consuming video production process, and obtaining parental consent for using VE platforms. Varying levels of ICT proficiency among teachers also hindered smooth operation, highlighting the need for comprehensive planning and technological skills in VE.   Research Outcomes The project’s success was attributed to the dedication and collaboration of educators who integrated technology into their teaching, enhancing students’ linguistic skills and cultural appreciation. Despite challenges, the project provided valuable professional development and emphasized the importance of planning and technological skills.   Future Scope Future projects should focus on improving schedule coordination, streamlining the video production process, enhancing ICT training for educators, and developing efficient methods for obtaining parental consent. These steps will ensure smoother implementation and maximize the educational benefits of VE

Homeroom Teachers or Specialist Teachers?: Considerations for the Workforce for Teaching English as a Subject at Elementary Schools in Japan

In Japan, English will be officially taught as an academic subject for elementary fifth and sixth graders from 2020. This is a strong initiative of language-in-education policy, aiming at efficient articulation between elementary and junior high schools and targeting the development of English proficiency from early ages simultaneously. However, teacher supply and professional development have been a critical issue for offering English as a subject. Reviewing the recent movement of English education at elementary schools, the paper overviews the current teacher system in public elementary schools in Japan and clarifies that homeroom teachers in Japanese elementary schools tend to work overload not only teaching but also with administrative duties. The paper then describes benefits and drawbacks of homeroom and specialist teachers in English teaching as a subject at elementary schools and argues qualifications of English teachers. The author finally introduces new specialist teacher systems, which will give a useful insight for developing the workforce for the future English education at Japanese public elementary schools

Edmodo as a tool for the global connection between Japanese and American college students in language learning

This study investigated how English learners at a university in Japan perceive connections with students in the US through an educational social network platform, called Edmodo. An instructor of English at a Japanese university cooperated with a Japanese language instructor at an American university and they incorporated Edmodo into their language classes. In the project activity, 62 Japanese and 53 American college students were paired or grouped in threes and interacted with each other on Edmodo. The students answered a feedback questionnaire at the end of the project. The study focused on Japanese students and their feedback on the Edmodo project was analyzed qualitatively. The findings indicated that almost all Japanese students positively perceived the connection with American students, and they recognized that the authentic communication was fun, valuable and an interesting experience. The connection, moreover, enabled Japanese students to identify differences in college and daily life between the two countries. However, the findings also suggest that more frequent interactions involving a number of different students be considered for further implementation of using Edmodo for involvement of the global community

THE INCIDENCE OF PEPTIC ULCER SURGERY BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTRODUCTION OF H2-RECEPTOR ANTAGONISTS

Since the introduction of H2-receptor antagonists, the incidence of ulcer surgery has decreased markedly. Based on the number of patients who underwent ulcer surgery and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in our hospital, the number of operations for peptic ulcer disease has decreased, although the number of peptic ulcer patients diagnosed by endoscopy has increased after the introduction of cimetidine (the first H2-receptor antagonist in Japan). The decreasing rate of surgical therapy before and after the administration of H2-receptor antagonists was 49.1%. The number of emergency operations has also decreased among ulcer patients diagnosed by endoscopy although the number of perforated and bleeding ulcer patients has increased. It is also reported that the most common operative procedure for both gastric and duodenal ulcer was distal gastrectomy reconstructed by gastroduodenostomy (Billroth Ⅰ)

The characteristics of Lake Tonle Sap in Cambodia based on changes in conductivity

金沢大学環日本海域環境研究センターエコテクノロジー研究部門Lake Tonle Sap in Cambodia is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, covering an area of about 2,500 km2 in the dry season and 12,500 km2 in the monsoon season. Due to such a unique seasonal change in hydrological phenomena related to the Mekong River system, the lake\u27s water quality must change dramatically. As there is a lack of basic data on the water quality and hydrological phenomena of Lake Tonle Sap, we launched a limnological research survey. This paper deals with the characteristics of the lake based on conductivity changes. Between the monsoon dry seasons, conductivity and water depth in the lake shore changed dramatically. Both were low in the dry season when the water depth was 0.5 m and the conductivity was 40 μS cm-1, and they were both high in the monsoon season, at 8 m and 120 μS cm-1, respectively. However, the conductivity offshore was high at an approximately constant rate throughout the year at around 100 ∼ 120 μS cm-1. This is because the waters that flow back from the Mekong River in the monsoon season remain in the offshore area. Conductivity decreases in the lake shore area in the dry season, which causes a low level of conductivity water to flow in from surrounding regions of the lake. It is the influence of the water flowing back from the Mekong River that increases the conductivity in the lake shore region during the monsoon season

Human mast cell activation through Fc receptors and Toll-like receptors

ABSTRACTMast cells express high-affinity IgE receptors (FcεRI) on their surface and can be activated to secrete a variety of biologically active mediators by cross-linking of receptor-bound IgE. Recent studies in animal models indicate that mouse mast cells may play a protective role in host defense against bacteria through the production of tumor necrosis factor-α, mainly as a result of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4- or CD48-mediated activation. Moreover, several recent observations in animal models have indicated that mast cells may also play a pivotal role in coordinating the early phases of autoimmune diseases, particularly those involving auto-antibodies. We recently identified functional TLR4 and FcγRI on human mast cells, in which their expression had been upregulated by interferon-γ. We compared each of the receptor-mediated gene expression profiles with the FcεRI-mediated gene expression profile using high-density oligonucleotide probe arrays and discovered that human mast cells may modulate the immune system in a receptor-specific manner

Macrophage colony-stimulating factor enhances rituximab-dependent cellular cytotoxicity by monocytes

医薬保健研究域医学系Recent studies suggest that monocytes are the dominant effectors by which rituximab induces cell death in B-cell lymphoma. Because macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) can enhance the cytotoxicity of monocytes, the authors examined whether this growth factor can enhance their ability to kill lymphoma cells in vitro. Monocytes derived from a healthy volunteer were cultured for 48 h in the presence or absence of M-CSF. Monocytes stimul ated with M-CSF were significantly more cytotoxic to Daudi B-cell lymphomas than unstimulated monocytes. Flow cytometry revealed that M-CSF increased monocyte expression of Fcγ receptors III and I by 1.6- and 1.5-fold, whereas the expression of Fcγ receptor II remained unchanged. These results suggest that pretreatment with M-CSF can improve the therapeutic efficacy of rituximab against intractable CD20+ lymphoma. © 2007 Japanese Cancer Association