Corporate approaches to human sustainability : workforce wellbeing in large Japanese companies : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand

Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have become widely researched fields. In recent years, there has been a growing social concern about issues affecting workforce wellbeing and human sustainability. However, little is known about how companies resolve these issues. In particular, there is a dearth of empirical research in these fields examining how companies address workforce wellbeing and human sustainability issues under increasing social pressures. To fill this knowledge gap, this exploratory study examines how large Japanese companies address these issues. It is positioned within a social constructionism/interpretivism paradigm and employs qualitative research methodology, drawing upon interviews with managers from 31 companies, as well as their stakeholders and informants. The study begins by examining workforce wellbeing and human sustainability initiatives promoted by large Japanese companies. It identifies four interconnected areas addressed as integral parts of CSR practices: gender equality, flexibility at work, regulating overwork, and productivity improvement. However, while companies promote initiatives under increasing social pressures, they find it difficult to incorporate the initiatives into CSR strategy due to emerging dilemmas. Next, the study explores the business-society interface in which companies face these dilemmas. It identifies nine factors which constrain the implementation of human sustainability initiatives. The evidence indicates that these factors constitute the underlying system of responsibilities that characterises the existing workstyle, leading to externalised overwork and gendered roles in Japanese society. Finally, the study examines how some companies implement human sustainability initiatives as part of their business strategies, even within these constraints. The evidence shows that these companies seek to proactively align core business practices with human sustainability initiatives, in order to enhance business performance over the long run. The findings also suggest that companies seek to proactively engage with key stakeholders to work through existing stakeholders’ expectations. Overall, the outcomes of this thesis elucidate a conceptual framework of the corporate approaches to workforce wellbeing and human sustainability, incorporating the roles of key stakeholders. This may assist scholars and practitioners to address issues affecting workforce wellbeing and human sustainability more effectively within a given social context. Hence, the contributions of this study are both theoretical and empirical

Multi-Epoch VERA Observations of Sagittarius A*: I. Images and Structural Variability

We report the results of multi-epoch observations of Sgr A* with VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA) at 43 GHz, carried out from 2004 to 2008. We detected a time variation of flux at 11 % level and intrinsic size at 19 %. In addition, comparisons with previous Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) results shows that Sgr A* underwent the flaring event at least longer than 10 days in May 2007. The intrinsic size of Sgr A* remained unchanged within 1 $\sigma$ level from the size before/after the flaring event, indicating that the brightness temperature of Sgr A* was increased. The flaring event occurred within 31 d, which is shorter than the refractive time scale. Moreover it is difficult to explain the increase in the spectral index at the flaring event by the simple interstellar scattering model. Hence, the flaring event is most likely associated with the changes in intrinsic properties of Sgr A*. We considered the origin of the brightness temperature variation, and concluded that the flaring event of Sgr A* could be explained by the continuous heating of electrons, such as a standing shock in accretion flow.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan (PASJ

DNN-Based Source Enhancement to Increase Objective Sound Quality Assessment Score

We propose a training method for deep neural network (DNN)-based source enhancement to increase objective sound quality assessment (OSQA) scores such as the perceptual evaluation of speech quality (PESQ). In many conventional studies, DNNs have been used as a mapping function to estimate time-frequency masks and trained to minimize an analytically tractable objective function such as the mean squared error (MSE). Since OSQA scores have been used widely for soundquality evaluation, constructing DNNs to increase OSQA scores would be better than using the minimum-MSE to create highquality output signals. However, since most OSQA scores are not analytically tractable, i.e., they are black boxes, the gradient of the objective function cannot be calculated by simply applying back-propagation. To calculate the gradient of the OSQA-based objective function, we formulated a DNN optimization scheme on the basis of black-box optimization, which is used for training a computer that plays a game. For a black-box-optimization scheme, we adopt the policy gradient method for calculating the gradient on the basis of a sampling algorithm. To simulate output signals using the sampling algorithm, DNNs are used to estimate the probability-density function of the output signals that maximize OSQA scores. The OSQA scores are calculated from the simulated output signals, and the DNNs are trained to increase the probability of generating the simulated output signals that achieve high OSQA scores. Through several experiments, we found that OSQA scores significantly increased by applying the proposed method, even though the MSE was not minimized

The distribution of parenchyma, follicles, and lymphocyte subsets in thymus of patients with myasthenia gravis, with special reference to remission after thymectomy

ObjectiveWe sought to examine the distribution of parenchyma, follicles, and lymphocyte subsets in the thymus of patients with myasthenia gravis and to identify determinants of remission after thymectomy.MethodsSixty patients with myasthenia gravis who underwent thymectomy were examined. The thymus was divided into upper, middle, and lower parts. The upper part was defined as the superior horn, the lower part as the inferior horn, and the middle part as tissue located between the 2 horns. The percentage of parenchyma was measured morphometrically. The degree of follicular hyperplasia was classified into 5 grades. The densities of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ lymphocytes were classified into 5 grades. The remission of myasthenia gravis after thymectomy was examined with those variables in each part of the thymus.ResultsThe middle part had the highest percentage of parenchyma, the highest grade of follicular hyperplasia, and the highest density of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ lymphocytes among the 3 parts (P < .001-.05). The grades of follicular hyperplasia in the middle and lower parts were significantly higher in patients with improvement of myasthenia gravis than in those without (P < .05). The densities of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ lymphocytes in the cortex of the middle part were significantly higher in patients with improvement than in those without improvement (P < .01-.05).ConclusionsThe thymus has a heterogeneous distribution of parenchyma, follicles, and lymphocyte subsets. The middle part had the largest parenchyma, the highest grade of follicular hyperplasia, and the highest densities of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ lymphocytes among the 3 parts of the thymus. The grade of follicular hyperplasia and the density of these lymphocyte subsets are predictive of improvement in myasthenia gravis after thymectomy

Peptide ligand screening of α-synuclein aggregation modulators by in silico panning

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>α-Synuclein is a Parkinson's-disease-related protein. It forms aggregates <it>in vivo</it>, and these aggregates cause cell cytotoxicity. Aggregation inhibitors are expected to reduce α-synuclein cytotoxicity, and an aggregation accelerator has recently been reported to reduce α-synuclein cytotoxicity. Therefore, amyloid aggregation modulating ligands are expected to serve as therapeutic medicines.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We screened peptide ligands against α-synuclein by <it>in silico </it>panning, a method which we have proposed previously. In this study, we selected as the target a very hydrophobic region known as the amyloid-core-forming region. Since this region cannot be dissolved in water, it is difficult to carry out the <it>in vitro </it>screening of its peptide ligand. We carried out 6 rounds of <it>in silico </it>panning using a genetic algorithm and a docking simulation. After the <it>in silico </it>panning, we evaluated the top peptides screened <it>in silico </it>by <it>in vitro </it>assay. These peptides were capable of binding to α-synuclein.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We demonstrated that it is possible to screen α-synuclein-binding peptides by <it>in silico </it>panning. The screened peptides bind to α-synuclein, thus affecting the aggregation of α-synuclein.</p

<ORIGINAL ARTICLE>Long-term follow-up of combined maxillary protraction appliance and chincap treatment

著しい骨格性反対咬合症例の治療において,我々は上顎前方牽引装置とchin capの併用により,顎関係の改善を行うことを含めた長期的管理を行っている。今回我々は骨格性反対咬合と診断され,治療を行った女子3症例の長期的観察を通し検討,考察を行った。これらの症例において,第一段階では上顎前方牽引装置とchin capにより顎関係を改善した。上顎前方牽引装置除去後,上顎は成長期間中位置変化を殆ど示さなかった。その間,下顎は予測よりも大きな成長を示した。咬合関係はすべての症例において成人期まで維持されていた。しかしこれらの症例は思春期成長の後も,下顎の前方成長により,わずかな後戻引頃向を示した。以上のことから,後戻りを予防するために反対咬合の治療においてはオーバーコレクションと第一段階後の下顎の成長のコントロールが必要であると考えられた。In an attempt to distinguish between long-term treatment effects and growth change, the present study evaluates the real post-treatment changes following maxillary protraction treatment after correction for the orthopedic effects which three female patients were investigated. Our proposed treatment plan for skeletal Class III patients consists of 3 stages. In the firststage, a maxillary protraction appliance and a chincap are used together to correct the intermaxillary relationship. After removal of the maxillary protraction appliance, the maxilla remains relatively stable during the growth stage. However, the mandible tends to experience overgrowth, which results in a relapse. The occlusal relationship was maintained until the adultstage in all cases. However, they experienced slight relapse, manifested by mandibular forward growth following removal of the maxillary protraction appliance. Therefore, overcorrection of reversed occlusion and control of mandibular growth after the first stage must be performed in order to prevent relapse

Activation of Satellite Glial Cells in Rat Trigeminal Ganglion after Upper Molar Extraction

The neurons in the trigeminal ganglion (TG) are surrounded by satellite glial cells (SGCs), which passively support the function of the neurons, but little is known about the interactions between SGCs and TG neurons after peripheral nerve injury. To examine the effect of nerve injury on SGCs, we investigated the activation of SGCs after neuronal damage due to the extraction of the upper molars in rats. Three, 7, and 10 days after extraction, animals were fixed and the TG was removed. Cryosections of the ganglia were immunostained with antibodies against glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a marker of activated SGCs, and ATF3, a marker of damaged neurons. After tooth extraction, the number of ATF3-immunoreactive (IR) neurons enclosed by GFAP-IR SGCs had increased in a time-dependent manner in the maxillary nerve region of the TG. Although ATF3-IR neurons were not detected in the mandibular nerve region, the number of GFAP-IR SGCs increased in both the maxillary and mandibular nerve regions. Our results suggest that peripheral nerve injury affects the activation of TG neurons and the SGCs around the injured neurons. Moreover, our data suggest the existence of a neuronal interaction between maxillary and mandibular neurons via SGC activation