完全オンラインでの反転授業においてディスカッションはうまくいくのか？

反転授業におけるオンラインでのディスカッションはうまくいくのだろうか。同一科目における反転授業と従来型授業とを比較・検討した。受講学生の授業アンケートを比較すると授業外学習時間が増加し、「課題をやり遂げる醍醐味を知った」という回答比率が大幅増加した。一方「学びあう仲間ができた」という回答比率が半減した。自由記述の受講者アンケートを元に、良好なオンラインディスカッションが成立する条件について検討した。第１に予習の徹底である。反転授業では予習を徹底することが難しいとされているが、LTD 形式での予習レポートの提出を、参加要件とすることが重要である。第２にZoom ブレイクアウトルームに入る前にルールを確認しておくことで、良い／良くない行為についての共通規範が形成される。良質なディスカッションが成立するためには、質の高い予習や準備をすることが期待できる環境を整備することが重要である

経済学における反転授業と話し合い学習法の統計分析

本研究の目的は、学部教育における経済学の、学習者同士の協同・協調的な学習の効果を統計的に検証することである。特に反転授業と話し合い学習法を導入した授業における効果を測るために、定期試験のスコアをデータとした回帰分析を行った。その結果、授業参加回数が多いほど、 スコアが高くなることがわかった。反転授業および話し合い学習法の効果が、限定的ではあるが統計的に評価できたと考える

Public Interest and Accessibility of Telehealth in Japan: Retrospective Analysis Using Google Trends and National Surveillance

Background: Recently, the use of telehealth for patient treatment under the COVID-19 pandemic has gained interest around the world. As a result, many infodemiology and infoveillance studies using web-based sources such as Google Trends were reported, focusing on the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although public interest in telehealth has increased in many countries during this time, the long-term interest has remained unknown among people living in Japan. Moreover, various mobile telehealth apps have become available for remote areas in the COVID-19 era, but the accessibility of these apps in epidemic versus nonepidemic regions is unknown.Objective: We aimed to investigate the public interest in telehealth during the first pandemic wave and after the wave in the first part of this study, and the accessibility of medical institutions using telehealth in the epidemic and nonepidemic regions, in the second part.Methods: We examined and compared the first wave and after the wave with regards to severe cases, number of deaths, relative search volume (RSV) of telehealth and COVID-19, and the correlation between RSV and COVID-19 cases, using open sources such as Google Trends and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (JMHLW) data. The weekly mean and the week-over-week change rates of RSV and COVID-19 cases were used to examine the correlation coefficients. In the second part, the prevalence of COVID-19 cases, severe cases, number of deaths, and the telehealth accessibility rate were compared between epidemic regions and nonepidemic regions, using the JMHLW data. We also examined the regional correlation between telehealth accessibility and the prevalence of COVID-19 cases.Results: Among the 83 weeks with 5 pandemic waves, the overall mean for the RSV of telehealth and COVID-19 was 11.3 (95% CI 8.0-14.6) and 30.7 (95% CI 27.2-34.2), respectively. The proportion of severe cases (26.54% vs 18.16%; P<.001), deaths (5.33% vs 0.99%; P<.001), RSV of telehealth (mean 33.1, 95% CI 16.2-50.0 vs mean 7.3, 95% CI 6.7-8.0; P<.001), and RSV of COVID-19 (mean 52.1, 95% CI 38.3-65.9 vs mean 26.3, 95% CI 24.4-29.2; P<.001) was significantly higher in the first wave compared to after the wave. In the correlation analysis, the public interest in telehealth was 0.899 in the first wave and –0.300 overall. In Japan, the accessibility of telehealth using mobile apps was significantly higher in epidemic regions compared to nonepidemic regions in both hospitals (3.8% vs 2.0%; P=.004) and general clinics (5.2% vs 3.1%; P<.001). In the regional correlation analysis, telehealth accessibility using mobile apps was 0.497 in hospitals and 0.629 in general clinics.Conclusions: Although there was no long-term correlation between the public interest in telehealth and COVID-19, there was a regional correlation between mobile telehealth app accessibility in Japan, especially for general clinics. We also revealed that epidemic regions had higher mobile telehealth app accessibility. Further studies about the actual use of telehealth and its effect after the COVID-19 pandemic are necessary

The tremendous potential of deep-sea mud as a source of rare-earth elements

金沢大学理工研究域地球社会基盤学系Potential risks of supply shortages for critical metals including rare-earth elements and yttrium (REY) have spurred great interest in commercial mining of deep-sea mineral resources. Deep-sea mud containing over 5,000 ppm total REY content was discovered in the western North Pacific Ocean near Minamitorishima Island, Japan, in 2013. This REY-rich mud has great potential as a rare-earth metal resource because of the enormous amount available and its advantageous mineralogical features. Here, we estimated the resource amount in REY-rich mud with Geographical Information System software and established a mineral processing procedure to greatly enhance its economic value. The resource amount was estimated to be 1.2 Mt of rare-earth oxide for the most promising area (105 km2 × 0-10 mbsf), which accounts for 62, 47, 32, and 56 years of annual global demand for Y, Eu, Tb, and Dy, respectively. Moreover, using a hydrocyclone separator enabled us to recover selectively biogenic calcium phosphate grains, which have high REY content (up to 22,000 ppm) and constitute the coarser domain in the grain-size distribution. The enormous resource amount and the effectiveness of the mineral processing are strong indicators that this new REY resource could be exploited in the near future. © 2018 The Author(s)

Indian Monsoonal Variations During the Past 80 Kyr Recorded in NGHP-02 Hole 19B, Western Bay of Bengal: Implications From Chemical and Mineral Properties

金沢大学理工研究域地球社会基盤学系Detailed reconstruction of Indian summer monsoons is necessary to better understand the late Quaternary climate history of the Bay of Bengal and Indian peninsula. We established a chronostratigraphy for a sediment core from Hole 19B in the western Bay of Bengal, extending to approximately 80 kyr BP and examined major and trace element compositions and clay mineral components of the sediments. Higher δ 18 O values, lower TiO 2 contents, and weaker weathering in the sediment source area during marine isotope stages (MIS) 2 and 4 compared to MIS 1, 3, and 5 are explained by increased Indian summer monsoonal precipitation and river discharge around the western Bay of Bengal. Clay mineral and chemical components indicate a felsic sediment source, suggesting the Precambrian gneissic complex of the eastern Indian peninsula as the dominant sediment source at this site since 80 kyr. Trace element ratios (Cr/Th, Th/Sc, Th/Co, La/Cr, and Eu/Eu*) indicate increased sediment contributions from mafic rocks during MIS 2 and 4. We interpret these results as reflecting the changing influences of the eastern and western branches of the Indian summer monsoon and a greater decrease in rainfall in the eastern and northeastern parts of the Indian peninsula than in the western part during MIS 2 and 4. © 2018. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved

Estimating the effect of unit-based pricing in the presence of sample selection bias under Japanese Recycling Law

In Japan the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law requires the collection of recyclable packaging and containers. In particular, municipalities are required to collect and store the containers and packaging that households have separated from solid waste. However, the law has non-binding standards, and some municipalities do not provide collection services for these recyclables. When estimating the substitution effect of unit-based pricing, i.e. the substitution of recyclables for solid waste, missing data for those municipalities that do not provide a collection service will lead to a truncated sample and, therefore, a sample selection bias in the estimators. We use a Type 2 Tobit model to correct a bias which arises because of missing data. This model provides a consistent estimator, and shows that a higher price for bags and tags increases recycling by households under the unit-based pricing systems introduced by municipalities.

DOES GARBAGE PRICING INCREASE ILLEGAL DUMPING OF HOUSEHOLD WASTE?

Abstract Although many theoretical studies have tried to clarify the mechanism of how illegal dumping would arise, there have been no empirical papers directly examining whether garbage pricing increases illegal disposal. Some indirect approaches do not seem to be reliable in term of survey design and estimation strategy for the following reasons: firstly, they did not control endogeneity problems. Secondly, there is a problem when data depends on human sense in indirect approaches. For example, report-based data from a citizen will increase if the citizen believes illegal disposal is deeply problematic. Thirdly, there will be another type of endogeneity, the relationship between crime reporting and police (Levitt, 1998). To overcome the indirect and direct measurement problems, we take notice of the nature of natural experiment, and apply spatial econometrics JEL classification: C23, H23, K42, Q5

The Determinants of the Municipality's Decision to Implement Recycling in Japan: Socio-Economic and Technological Factors

The Japanese government has encouraged reduction, reuse, and recycling of waste with the slogan "3R" under the Basic Law for Establishing a Recycling-based Society. However, the law is non-binding in nature; thus, the collection of each type of recyclable containers and packaging is done at the discretion of the municipalities. Some municipalities do not provide collection services for these recyclables. Why do some municipalities recycle while others do not? Few studies have investigated the determinants of the municipality's decision to collect recyclables. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors affecting a municipality's decision to implement the collection of already sorted recyclable containers and packaging in Japan. We use a panel data at the municipal level, which enabled us to analyze the behavioral characteristics of each municipality more accurately. We investigate the municipality's decision to provide collection service for each type of recyclable containers and packaging, while the other studies looked at recyclables as a whole. Equations for each type of recyclables have been estimated using the random effect probit model. Our results suggest that some socioeconomic and technological factors could keep the municipalities from implementing the collection of sorted recyclables