Foreign ownership, international joint ventures and strategic investment

We investigate the strategic relationship between a foreign firm and a local firm in an international joint venture (IJV). We develop a simple partial equilibrium model in which a local firm invests in skills, which affects the productivity of the IJV, and the foreign firm decides whether to implement an IJV or not. In equilibrium, foreign ownership is a key factor that determines the investment level and the foreign firm's strategy. If foreign ownership is too low or too high, the foreign firm cannot induce the local partner to invest in skills, a situation that provides the lowest payoff for both agents. If it is at a medium level, the local partner invests in management skill and the foreign firm chooses the IJV strategy. In this case, both agents receive a higher payoff

Factors affecting the career development of male care workers working in nursing homes : A qualitative research of male care workers

This study is a qualitative research that aims to clarify the factors affecting the career development of male care workers working in nursing homes. The subjects were 19 people who can cooperate with the ongoing investigation. As a result, it was revealed that many care workers had experienced other occupations and had gotten qualifications. On the other hand, the carrier support of the individuals was limited to regular training and getting qualifications, their hope for the future career would not confirmed within the organization. In addition, people who had mentors and role models had been relatively stable, and was satisfied with the career of their own. Moreover, many of the care workers who were under stress, cited lack of career support, education and training opportunities as the cause. This study will be the result to give more suggestions employment policy of care workers today.本研究は、平成22～24年度科学研究費補助金 (若手研究 B) (課題番号 22710267)「高齢者福祉施設男性ケアワーカーのキャリア形成と影響要因に関する縦断的調査研究」(研究代表者 澤田有希子) の助成による研究成果の一部である

Steroids Production by Ovarian Non-functioning Tumors in Postmenopausal Women

Higher serum levels of estrone, estradiol, progesterone and testosterone were observed with a high incidence in patients with ovarian non-functioning tumors in postmenopausal women. Postsurgical decreases of the serum levels of steroids in cases who underwent complete removal of tumor were found in all cases only in estradiol, in some cases in other steroids. The difference of steroid serum levels between cases with tumor volume >1000 cm3 an

A novel locally operated master-slave robot system for single-incision laparoscopic surgery

Purpose: Single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) provides more cosmetic benefits than conventional laparoscopic surgery but presents operational difficulties. To overcome this technical problem, we have developed a locally operated master-slave robot system that provides operability and a visual field similar to conventional laparoscopic surgery. Material and methods: A surgeon grasps the master device with the left hand, which is placed above the abdominal wall, and holds a normal instrument with the right hand. A laparoscope, a slave robot, and the right-sided instrument are inserted through one incision. The slave robot is bent in the body cavity and its length, pose, and tip angle are changed by manipulating the master device; thus the surgeon has almost the same operability as with normal laparoscopic surgery. To evaluate our proposed system, we conducted a basic task and an ex vivo experiment. Results: In basic task experiments, the average object-passing task time was 9.50 sec (SILS cross), 22.25 sec (SILS parallel), and 7.23 sec (proposed SILS). The average number of instrument collisions was 3.67 (SILS cross), 14 (SILS parallel), and 0.33 (proposed SILS). In the ex vivo experiment, we confirmed the applicability of our system for single-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Conclusion: We demonstrated that our proposed robot system is useful for single-incision laparoscopic surgery.ArticleMINIMALLY INVASIVE THERAPY & ALLIED TECHNOLOGIES. 23(6):326-332 (2014)journal articl

A study on social support in the workplace of the professions of comprehensive community support centers : Based on the survey to the professions

The purpose of this study was to clarify the conditions of social support in the workplace of the professions (certified social workers, chief care managers, and public health nurses) of comprehensive community support centers. Questionnaire of 5 copies each was mailed to 966 comprehensive community support centers throughout Japan. Survey items are basic attributes, social support measurement, maslach burnout inventory (MBI), job satisfaction measurement, etc. The number of valid responses was 1,145. And the social support measurement was verified and divided into two factor structure, supervisor support and coworker support. On the whole, professions (certified social workers, chief care managers, and public health nurses) show the comparatively high social support scored. A social support score has certified social workers higher than chief care managers. In addition, young persons have got many social supports rather than the middle-aged person. As a result, the young person from 20\u27s to 30\u27s is receiving transfer and instruction of knowledge from the persons of middle age with more abundant experience, or having received support.本研究は、平成21～23年度科学研究費補助金(基盤研究B) (課題番号 21330144))「高齢者保健福祉専門職の離転職の要因分析と専門職支援の可能性の検討」(研究代表者 石川久展) の助成による研究成果の一部である