A Study on Trends in the Number and Content of Journal Article Titles Containing the Term “Elder Abuse”

Japan enacted the Elder Abuse Prevention Law on April 1, 2006; no amendments have been made since then. The purpose of this study is to examine trends in the number and content of journal article titles containing the term “elder abuse” and determine what further research is needed to identify where amendments to the law would be useful. We identified 986 articles using the CiNii database between the dates of 2005 to 2020. We categorized those titles by content, using a KJ Method. Preliminary analyses revealed that the average number of the articles published each year was 61.6, though a moving average of the numbers of articles on elder abuse has been steadily declining, as opposed to the average number for child abuse articles, 158, where the moving average staying the same. As for the analyses for the titles, they were categorized into 10 categories, including “law,” “responses of professional personnel to elder abuse,” “systems of government agencies,” “responses of nurses,” “institutional elder abuse,” “support for caregivers,” “reports on elder abuse in other countries,” “dementia and elder abuse,” “responses of medical institutions,” and “others.” It is suggested that more research needs to be done, especially in such areas as “verification of elder abuse cases,” “psychological impacts on elder abuse victims,” “empirical research conducted by medical doctors dealing with elder abuse cases,” and “cooperation between police and professional institutions,” many of which were found in research on child abuse where 4 law amendments have been made since its enactment of 2000.

Use of Robotic Pet in a Distributed Layout Elderly Housing with Services: A Case Study on Elderly People with Cognitive Impairment

In recent years, robotic pets have been used by many countries worldwide as a method for treating behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). The seal robot PARO was loaned intermittently to a distributed layout elderly housing with services over a seven-month period, during which it was observed that three residents with cognitive dysfunctions showed improvements in their BPSD and the nursing care load of the staff was reduced during the periods when PARO was present. The objective of this study is to investigate, through a case study, the effects of intermittent interaction with PARO on those with cognitive dysfunctions and the staff workers. The short version of the Dementia Behavior Disturbance Scale (DBD-13) was used as the medical outcome index, and the KJ method was used to analyze the qualitative data, such as staff reports and interviews. The results show that the DBD-13 total scores reduced during the periods when PARO was present and increased during the periods when PARO was absent. The KJ method yielded similar findings. The use of DBD-13 and the KJ method complemented the results of each other and increased the persuasive power of the findings. By using the KJ method, it was further determined that the workload of the staff was reduced, allowing them to recuperate, which reconfirmed the value of PARO. Further case studies will be undertaken in the future with the aim of constructing a methodology for implementing case studies.

Cooperative Learning of Seiryu-Tai Hayashi Learners for the Hida Furukawa Festival in Japan

The residents of Furukawa-cho, Hida City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan use cooperative learning during festival organization to preserve the various traditional arts of Hida Furukawa Festival, such as Hayashi. The goals of this study were to (1) analyze the aspects of cooperative learning of Seiryu-tai Hayashi learners involved in the Furukawa Festival, and (2) determine the effects of factors influencing cooperative learning on the aspects of cooperative learning among these learners. We applied grounded theory and conducted a field study on the six years of the Furukawa Festival and residents’ daily lives since 2014. We numbered, coded, and categorized text data, and classified the data using the KJ method. We applied the five elements of cooperative learning by Johnson and Johnson, and analyzed the cooperative learning processing of Seiryu-tai, considering five aspects: (1) cultivation and skills: to follow the norms of Hayashi learning and then cultivate the skills; (2) demonstration and imitation: the process of Hayashi learning without notation; (3) instruction and accompanying: elders addressed norms and demonstrated skills, providing comfort and encouragement; (4) experience and feeling: interacting with unqualified learners to experience the Hayashi atmosphere, and (5) others and interaction: experience of a different culture. From the analyses, we found that the five elements of cooperative learning in Hayashi cooperative learning provide new functions. We applied the five elements of cooperative learning to analyze the five aspects of Azure Dragon Stall’s Hayashi cooperative learning: (1) positive interdependence: deep interdependence exists in the core of the learning circle, and guarding and immersion are included; (2) individual accountability: achievement of following the norms, enhancing skills, and having a tacit agreement on the instrumental ensemble; (3) promotive interaction: five interactive types are influenced, including people who follow etiquette, people who need to be advised, people who imitate, people with tolerance, and people who interact; (4) the division of social skills into four types including playing, performing, senior, and foreign, and (5) group processing, which includes learners, instructors, senior learners, elders, youths, and foreign visitors, who jointly form the Hayashi learning circle.

A Research on Causes of Underemployment of Engineering Graduates through Quality Control (QC) Tool - Affinity Diagram (KJ Method)

More than unemployment, the issue faced by the youth in India is debated to be underemployment. The objective of the study is to identify the causes for underemployment as perceived by the Under Graduate (UG) Engineering and Technology (E&T) students. The methodology involves collecting data on the causes of underemployment from UG E&T students at the verge of graduation and grouping the thus collected data. The Quality Control (QC) Tool - Affinity Diagram has been used in this study to collect data as it is an approach that enables data collection by protecting the identity of the data giver. The first phase of using the tool involves collecting data as experienced and perceived by the data giver. The second phase, involves grouping of the data collected in phase one of the methodology and assigning a relevant group title. It has been concluded that such data grouped under relevant heads when provided to aspirants of UG E&T programs will enable the aspirants to: 1. Better understand the causes for underemployment and 2. Guide them to take actions at the optimal time during their student hood to attain the needful attributes to be employable immediately after graduation