18 research outputs found
Dynamics of social trust and human capital in the learning process: The case of the Japan garment cluster in the period 1968-2005
No full textThis paper examined how and the extent to which human capital and social trust are associated with the learning process of a manager in making operations decisions through experience. To this end, using a data set originally and purposively constructed by the author, I investigate the development and transformation of the garment industry cluster region of Kojima, Japan. The major findings through statistical estimations are as follows. (1) In the cluster development stage, the social trust of an enterprise and its manager’s experiences in firm operations could be regarded as forming a complimentary association. (2) In the stage following cluster development, however, a manager’s human capital as accumulated through schooling and personal experience becomes complimentary instead of social trust.Social trust, Human capital, Bayesian learning
Japanese Philosophers Go West : The Effect of Maritime Trips on Philosophy in Japan with Special Reference to the Case of Watsuji Tetsuro
No full textFrom 1860 up until 1960 Japanese intellectuals habitually travelled to Europe to absorb the latest Western scholarship. Philodophers were no exception. Going to the West was an intellectual and institutional duty to legitimize one's position in the Ivory Tower of the imperial universities. Fudo by Watsuji Tetsuro (1889-1960) merits consideration as the outcome of his stay in the West (1927-28). Chronologically, the book was inspired by Heidegger's Sein und Zeit (1927) and Dilthey's Gesammelte Shriften (1927). Watsuji modifies Heideger's thinking on Zeitlichkeit, replacing his Sein zum Tode with Sein zum Leben in the footsteps of Dilthey. The author also contrasts Japanese and Western culture (monsoon and meadow), while separating East and West by the arid desert area located in between. Watsuji's reflection on humans' relationship with nature (Fudo) was also his reply to Karl Marx. He confronted Marx's theory on Entfremdung with Heidegger's idea of Zuhandensein and rehabilitated Mitsein so as to elaborate his own idea of Sittlichkeit, or the ethics of an idealized Gemeinschaft. This paper seeks to elucidate the extent to which his trp to the West affected his ideas. The sightseeing on his way to Europe stimulated his served as the germinating core of Fudo. Instead of analyzing Watsuji's Fudo as a stereotypical and outdated example of climatic deteminism, this paper elucidates historical as well as spatial conditions by which Japanese Philosophy established itself as an academic discipline in pre-war Japan.departmental bulletin pape
The Folklore of “Fudo”
No full textapplication/pdfConventionally the natural and spiritual features of region (we call it “Fûdo” ) have seldom been discussed positively in our folklore. This is partly because the word “Fûdo” , which means natural and spiritual features, is much ambiguous in Japanese and that equivocal use of this word has been left to take its course both in its intensive and extensive sense. A number of people admit however that the “Fûdo” implies a sort of regional sense, sensitivity or inclination which cannot be expressed by any other wording.
The “Fûdo” should therefore be regrasped in the general framework of people's recognition process of Nature, not as an object of natural science. Though this recognition was once applied in the basic theory of WATSUJI Tetsuro on which he discussed the “Fûdo” as his subject matter, his discussion developed only into his personal speculation, not into the process of people's recognition of the natural and spiritual features of regions.
The “Fûdo” if it is to be defined in its intensive meaning, may be grasped as an image that can evoke a “subjectivization” of the environments which surround humans. From the standpoint of the subjectivization of environments this approach can be identified with that idea of KANI Toukichi according to which he attempted to classify the river from the point of view of the insects living therein in his ecological study.
YANAGITA Kunio made no positive proposition on the problem of Fûdo. His final objective in his folkloristic works was to abstract the regional mind. He finally spellbound this mind contending that it can be understood only by persons from same regions. This paper attempted to prove that the mind is an intensive reality of the Fûdo. In the same line of understanding, such folklorists after YANAGITA as CHIBA Tokuji and TSUBOI Hirofumi, who were much interested in the problem of Fûdo, tried to break that spell.
By way of abstracting an interrelation of vocabulary produced in some regions by an association, we can predict an existence of an association system such as “Saijiki” (a collection of haiku divided into four seasons), which is based on an emic image association. These predictions have been described in this paper taking up some material examples, which must be an effective approach to comprehend regional sense and sensitivity. Because the spatial range of the Fûdo is much elastic, it is not productive to understand it within the geographical framework only. The author thus proposes to rediscover our Fûdo in a folklore specialized in a study of regional sensitivity.departmental bulletin pape
Changes of improvement in upper limb function predict surgical outcome after laminoplasty in 1 year in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy: a retrospective study
No full text久留米大学博士（医学）2023年度doctoral thesi
Changes of improvement in upper limb function predict surgical outcome after laminoplasty in 1 year in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy: a retrospective study
No full text2023年
Changes of improvement in upper limb function predict surgical outcome after laminoplasty in 1 year in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy: a retrospective study
No full textAbstract Background Cervical spondylotic myelopathy preoperative prognostic factors include age, preoperative severity, and disease duration. However, there are no reports on the relationship between changes in physical function during hospitalization and postoperative course, and in recent years, the length of hospital stay has shortened. We aimed to investigate whether changes in physical function during hospitalization can predict the postoperative outcome. Methods We recruited 104 patients who underwent laminoplasty for cervical spondylotic myelopathy by the same surgeon. Physical functions, including Simple Test for Evaluating Hand Function (STEF), grip strength, timed up and go test, 10-m walk, and time to stand on one leg, were assessed at admission and discharge. Patients with the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score improvement rate of 50% or more were defined as the improved group. Decision tree analysis was investigated factor for identifying improvement in the JOA score. According to this analysis, we divided into two groups using age. Then, we conducted a logistic regression analysis to identify factors that improve the JOA score. Results The improved and non-improved groups had 31 and 73 patients, respectively. The improved group was younger (p = 0.003) and had better improved Δgrip strength (p = 0.001) and ΔSTEF (p < .0007). Age was significantly positively correlated with disease duration (r = 0.4881, p = < .001). Disease duration exhibited a significant negative correlation with the JOA score improvement rate (r = − 0.2127, p = 0.031). Based on the decision tree analysis results, age was the first branching variable, with 15% of patients ≥ 67 years showing JOA score improvement. This was followed by ΔSTEF as the second branching factor. ΔSTEF was selected as the factor associated with JOA improvement in patients ≥67 years (odds ratio (OR) 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01–1.12, p=.0268); in patients <67 years, Δgrip strength was identified (OR 1.30, CI 1.04‒1.62, p=.0049). Conclusions In the improved group, upper limb function improved more than lower limb function from the early postoperative period. Upper limb function changes during hospitalization were associated with outcomes one year postoperatively. Improvement factors in upper extremity function differed by age, with changes in grip strength in patients < 67 years and STEF in patients ≥ 67 years, reflecting the outcome at one year postoperatively
Correction: Changes of improvement in upper limb function predict surgical outcome after laminoplasty in 1 year in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy: a retrospective study
No full textComputed Tomographic Epidurography in Patients with Low Back Pain and Leg Pain: A Single-Center Observational Study
No full textThis study was conducted to analyze the findings and benefits of computed tomography (CT) epidurography in patients with low back and leg pain and compare these findings with those of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images. In total, 495 intervertebral discs from 99 patients with low back and leg pain who underwent percutaneous epidural adhesiolysis (epidural neuroplasty or percutaneous adhesiolysis) were examined. The axial views of CT epidurography were classified into six types to examine each intervertebral disc: round type, ellipse type, spike type, Benz mark, incomplete block, complete block, and non-contrast. MRI images were graded from A to D using the Schizas classification. Notably, 176 images were round-type and ellipse-type axial views, and 138 were spike-type and Benz-mark views; Schizas classification Grades A and B were observed in 272 and 47 MRI images, respectively. The incomplete block and complete block axial images did not significantly differ in CT epidurography and Schizas classification Grades C and D. The images showing Benz marks existed only at the L4/5 and L5/S intervertebral levels and only in 14.7% of patients. The ratio of normal shadows differed between MRI images and CT epidurography. Therefore, CT epidurography may enable a detailed evaluation of the epidural space
Impact of spinal surgery on locomotive syndrome in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis in clinical decision limit stage 3: a retrospective study
No full textAbstract Background Locomotive syndrome (LS) is characterized by reduced mobility. Clinical decision limit (CDL) stage 3 in LS indicates physical frailty. Lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSS) is one of the causes of LS, for which lumbar surgery is considered to improve the CDL stage. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of lumbar surgery and independent factors for improving the CDL stage in patients with LSS. Methods This retrospective study was conducted at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at our University Hospital. A total of 157 patients aged ≥ 65 years with LSS underwent lumbar surgery. The 25-Question Geriatric Locomotive Function scale (GLFS-25) was used to test for LS, and the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) was used to evaluate functional ability. Lower limb pain was evaluated using a visual analog scale. Patients with at least one improvement in the CDL stage following lumbar surgery were included in the improvement group. Differences in lower limb pain intensity between the groups were evaluated using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. The Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used to determine correlations between Δ lower limb pain and Δ GLFS-25. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with improvement in LS. Results The proportion of patients with improved CDL stage was 45.1% (improvement/non-improvement: 32/39). Δ Lower limb pain was significantly reduced in the improvement group compared with that in the non-improvement group (51.0 [36.3–71.0] vs 40.0 [4.0–53.5]; p = 0.0107). Δ GLFS-25 was significantly correlated with Δ lower limb pain (r = 0.3774, p = 0.0031). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that TUG and age were significantly associated with improvement in LS (odds ratio, 1.22; 95% confidence interval: 1.07–1.47). Conclusions Lumbar surgery effectively improved the CDL stage in patients with LSS. In addition, TUG was an independent factor associated with improvement in the CDL
Phase angle is related to physical function and quality of life in preoperative patients with lumbar spinal stenosis
No full textAbstract Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) can interfere with daily life and quality of life (QOL). Evaluating physical function and QOL and helping patients to improve is the focus of rehabilitation. Phase angle (PhA) assessment is widely used to measure body composition and is considered an indicator of physical function and QOL. This study investigated the relationship between PhA and physical function, physical activity, and QOL in patients with LSS. PhA, handgrip strength, walking speed, Timed Up and Go test (TUG), Life Space Assessment (LSA), Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), Japanese Orthopaedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire (JOABPEQ), and EQ-5D were assessed and statistically analyzed. The study included 133 patients with LSS. Multiple regression analysis of PhA adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index (Model 1) and for Model 1 + PNI (Model 2) showed significant correlations (P < 0.05) with handgrip strength, walking speed, TUG, and LSA. Regarding QOL, PhA was significantly correlated (P < 0.05) with lumbar function in JOABPEQ. PhA was associated with physical function and QOL in patients with LSS and might be a new clinical indicator in this population
