Impacts of Climate Change on Fuel Management Decisions and Implications for Fire Risk

Private forest owners face an increasing risk of economic damage from extreme wildfires as the climate becomes warmer and drier. This thesis empirically estimates the influence of climate on private forest owners’ management decisions using plot-level data in the Pacific states of the U.S. Econometric models are specified where the probability of precommercial thinning is a function of climate variables, timber productivity and fire risk. The results of the empirical analysis suggest that a forest stand with high timber productivity and land value are more likely to be thinned, indicating that the net private benefits of thinning are higher on more productive stands. This study also projects the marginal change in the probability of thinning in response to climate changes involving temperature and precipitation. Forest stands that occur in areas with current high fire risk and low forest rent are projected to be less likely to be thinned under future climate change. The result implies that stands with high fire risk will potentially be even more prone to fire if private forest owners make fuel management decisions driven by private economic motivations. Furthermore, the result implies a higher risk of spreading wildfire across an entire landscape because management on a private forest stand interacts with neighboring forest stands. This study contributes to the economics of forest fire management under climate change by providing empirical evidence of landowners’ management response to climate

Unconscious Biases Affect Women and Mothers

The purpose of this study is to sketch unconscious biases that affect women and mothers. As a result of this study, the following points become clear: (1) Unconscious biases also inform social norms and roles in women’s dress and makeup. Women accept them unconsciously. (2) The unconscious bias that “childcare is the responsibility of women” is still strong today. Therefore, mothers tend to feel guilt about their children. Mothers also hesitate to leave their children at daycare as a rest for themselves. (3) The unconscious bias that “childcareis the responsibility of women” causes various forms of maternal guilt. However, previous studies have not shown that mothers who work have a negative effect on their children’s development. These unconscious biases have been created by the social environment and culture and have an impact on the formation of our values and stereotypes. We need to think about the issues that women and mothers face by recognizing our unconscious biases.本稿は，日本発達心理学会第30回大会ラウンドテーブルで行った話題提供がもとになっている

Why is the Temporary Childcare System Difficult for Japanese Parents to Use for Parental Relief?

This study clarifies the reasons Japanese parents experience difficulties in using the temporary childcare system for parental relief. Three factors were identified following a literature review of previous research related to temporary childcare systems and information from the official websites of each municipality. First, it was difficult to identify the little information provided about institutional procedures. When parents attempt to use the temporary childcare system for parental relief, they need to collect information and procedures from over one month prior and it is necessary to organize with the childcare provider in advance. Local governments may not provide enough information and may not maintain or manage temporary childcare systems. Second, temporary childcare was difficult to use for parental relief because of unconscious bias. For example, the unconscious bias, i.e., “childcare is the mother’s responsibility,” means that principals may not respond positively to the parents’ need to use the temporary childcare system for relief. Third, the mothers’ guilt makes them hesitate using the temporary childcare systems. Mothers also hold the same unconscious bias that childcare is the mother’s responsibility; therefore, they may hesitate using the temporary childcare system. Furthermore, these behaviors and actions also interfere with other mothers’ use of the temporary childcare systems for parental relief

A Comparison of SCAT and Ueno’s Qualitative Analysis as the Qualitative Data Analysis: A Study of Interview Data from a Kindergarten Director

The purpose of this study is to compare the characteristics of SCAT (Steps for Coding and Theorization) and Ueno’s qualitative analysis as a form of qualitative data analysis applied to interview data from a kindergarten director. The subject and methods of the study are as follows. (1) We interviewed the director of Kindergarten A. (2) The research question asked why he started to run the child-based kindergarten. (3) We analyzed the interview data using SCAT. (4) We also analyzed the interview data using Ueno’s qualitative analysis. (5) We compared their characteristics. The analyses made the following points clear. First, the SCAT is characterized by the decontextualisation of the segmented text, step by step. By contrast, Ueno’s qualitative analysis is marked by its recontextualization through the mapping and charting of metadata. Second, when we use SCAT, we need to understand the theory of qualitative inquiry and must read the text over and over, analyzing it over time. However, the intellectual excitement when we discover the inherent meaning in the text is great. However, Ueno’s qualitative analysis is superior in terms of cost performance, time saved, and energy savings, though it does not convert qualitative data into words. With this approach, the intellectual excitement we felt when we discovered the meaning inherent in a text was not as great as when using SCAT

Interdisciplinary Class in Okayama University on the Climate Environment around Japan in Association with the Variety of Seasonal Feeling (with Attention to the Seasonal Cycle of Rainfall in the Warm Season)

The present study is a part of the activity to develop an interdisciplinary class on the climate environment around the Japan Islands in association with the “seasonal feeling”, with attention to the seasonal cycle of the weather systems and the rainfall characteristics during the warm season. Firstly, the school song “Wa-ka-ba” (which means the deep green leaves) was analyzed as a typical song expressing the season just between the spring and the Baiu, for developing study materials for the joint activity of meteorology to music. Next, seasonal difference of the rainfall characteristics around the Japan Islands was reviewed together with the new preliminary analyses, with attention to the contribution of the “heavy rainfall days” to the total precipitation amount. Finally, the joint activity of the art with meteorology for the class at the Faculty of Education, Okayama University was reported, together with the analyses of the students’ works expressing the rainfall event in a specified season by themselves

Synoptic climatological analyses on the rainfall features in southern Kyushu and the atmospheric fields around April

Around April, total precipitation in southern Kyushu already attains rather large value due to the increase in contribution of the “heavy rainfall days” (with daily precipitation more the 50 mm/day, referred to as HRD). The present study examined the rainfall features and atmospheric conditions on the HRDs at Kagoshima in southern Kyushu, based on the operational observation data from 1990 to 2009. The HRDs there in April appeared mainly associated with the extratropical cyclone passage, together with tentative appearance of the stationary front. The mean daily precipitation on the HRDs was 82 mm and contribution of the intense rainfall more than 10 mm/h attained up to 38 mm, which accounted for 46 % of the daily total precipitation. In April, the high specific humidity area in the time mean field was still located far to the south of the Japan Islands and the stratification around the Japan Islands was very stable for deep moist convection. However, the zone with rather strong seasonal mean baroclinicity extended to rather southern area near 20°N. This would provide a favorable condition for the long-distance moistu

The Possibilities and Challenges of Multi-vocal Visual Ethnography as a Research Methodology

The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of how multi-vocal visual ethnography is applied in the world and to examine its possibilities and problems as a research methodology. Twenty-three academic articles using multi-vocal visual ethnography were collected and analyzed. The analysis results revealed the following: (1) multi-vocal visual ethnography is used as a tool for understanding not only the “visible,” but also the “invisible.” (2) The technique is used not only in comparative cultural research, but also as a tool for capturing different perspectives within a single culture. (3) Photographs and websites are used as cues, in addition to videos. (4) Cues consist of a variety of content. Unlike conventional ethnography, multi-vocal visual ethnography is a research methodology that has the potential to promote dialogues between researchers and people in and outside the field