Satoshi P. Watanabe

Impacts of university education reform on faculty perceptions of workload

Since the corporatization of national universities, the environment surrounding Japanese universities has dramatically changed in various respects. A series of government-led attempts have intended to support the domestic colleges and universities in gaining a competitive edge by improving the quality of teaching and research as well as guaranteeing the international validity of the countrys higher education system. Impacts of all the challenges that have been tackled with internal efforts in the last few years could be enormous on the personnel workload. However, little is known about the impacts of Japans recent university education reform, particularly on the changing workload of the faculty who engage at the forefront in student teaching and advising, administrative roles as well as research activities. Using results from individual faculty interviews, this paper attempts to link the changing workload of Japanese professors with specific reasons that are rooted in the countrys recent university education reform. Reviewing the effects of the reform on faculty workload provides us with important insights for the long term and guides us to prevent the derailment from the endeavour to which a significant amount of resources have been dedicated by the country.

DELLA-GAF1 Complex Is a Main Component in Gibberellin Feedback Regulation of GA20 Oxidase 2

GAF1-binding sites are necessary for GA feedback regulation of AtGA20ox2 in transgenic Arabidopsis, indicating that the DELLA-GAF1 complex is a main component of the GA feedback regulation of AtGA20ox2. Gibberellins (GAs) are phytohormones that regulate many aspects of plant growth and development, including germination, elongation, flowering, and floral development. Negative feedback regulation contributes to homeostasis of the GA level. DELLAs are negative regulators of GA signaling and are rapidly degraded in the presence of GAs. DELLAs regulate many target genes, including AtGA20ox2 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), encoding the GA-biosynthetic enzyme GA 20-oxidase. As DELLAs do not have an apparent DNA-binding motif, transcription factors that act in association with DELLA are necessary for regulating the target genes. Previous studies have identified GAI-ASSOCIATED FACTOR1 (GAF1) as such a DELLA interactor, with which DELLAs act as coactivators, and AtGA20ox2 was identified as a target gene of the DELLA-GAF1 complex. In this study, electrophoretic mobility shift and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that four GAF1-binding sites exist in the AtGA20ox2 promoter. Using transgenic plants, we further evaluated the contribution of the DELLA-GAF1 complex to GA feedback regulation. Mutations in four GAF1-binding sites abolished the negative feedback of AtGA20ox2 in transgenic plants. Our results showed that GAF1-binding sites are necessary for GA feedback regulation of AtGA20ox2, suggesting that the DELLA-GAF1 complex is a main component of the GA feedback regulation of AtGA20ox2.

Determinants of Employer-Sponsored Training Participation for Young Workers During Economic Downturns: Evidence from the Past

This study is devoted to learning from the past and understanding the determinants of training participation for young workers during recessionary periods. Evidence is found that the post-training wage growth expected over a few years after training, rather than an immediate wage gain upon completion of training, was a significant motive for young individuals to invest in training in the midst of the post-Black Monday recession. An immediate wage gain due to training, in contrast, provides no statistically significant evidence. These results indicate that young workers’ decision to invest in skill acquisition was made reasonably based on a stretched span of wage profile even during the period of economic slowdown rather than based on a myopic view as is often believed to be typical behaviour of young individuals. An important implication of this study is that the human capital of young workers continues to accumulate even in recessionary periods if an employer plans workers’ career development and earnings growth potentials beyond the time of economic hardship.

“Where Do They Belong in the Job Markets?” Emerging Career Issues of Public Policy Program Graduates in Japan

Abstract The emergence of Japanese professional schools began in 2003 as part of the government-led university education reform. As the newly launched public policy schools continue to produce policy professionals each year, finding career opportunities for prospective graduates has become an important institutional agenda. This paper attempts to clarify critical issues currently faced by Japanese public policy schools and their graduates, particularly from the job placement and career development perspectives, and seek potential remedies for the issues raised through comparative learning based on the distinct history, characteristics, and environments surrounding policy schools in the US and Japan.

スーパーグローバル大学創成支援事業による 広島大学の教育力・研究力強化 －客観的指標に基づく国際水準の達成－

はしがき 西谷 元 …i 序章 はじめに －大学グローバル化の諸相－ 丸山 文裕 …1 第1章 広島大学の目標達成型重要業績指標AKPI 相田 美砂子…7 第2章 国際的な教育質保証に向けた取り組み 　－Student Experience in the Research University (SERU)－ 渡邉 聡 …25 第3章 留学効果の客観的測定・プログラムの質保証 　－The Beliefs, Events, and Values Inventory (BEVI-j )－ 西谷 元 …45 第4章 三階層ティーチングアシスタント制度「Hirodai TA」の理念と実践 　－多様性を保証するグローバル・バリアフリー・キャンパス構想の実現を目指して－ 丸山 恭司・戴 容秦思・中野 登志美 …71 第5章 英語個人別期待値の設定 　－語学力向上の動機づけまたSGU 目標達成の一助として－ 西谷 元・渡邉 恵…95

“Prince Charming Syndrome?” Gender gap in preferences for defined contribution pensions in Japan

ABSTRACT Using survey data collected by the Japan Institute of Life Insurance in 2002, this study finds that a significant gender gap existed in defined contribution (DC) pension knowledge among workers employed at small- to medium-sized private firms in Japan. Even with similar DC knowledge, however, men and women reveal different preferences for DC pensions, indicating that their perceptional responses may widely differ from actual behaviors. Apart from the knowledge gap, the result shows evidence of the Prince Charming Syndrome among female employees as a significant source of the gender gap in DC participation rates. Among corporate pension-covered employees, the gender difference in the efficacy of DC portability is a more significant gap-generating factor. DC tax advantage is particularly favored by pension-covered female employees over male counterparts, reducing the DC preference gap. No similar evidence is found for employees with no corporate pension coverage.

Retirement Systems of Higher Educational Institutions in Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom

わが国では急速な少子高齢化が進展するに伴い, 若年就労世代が老齢退職者の公的年金を賄う社会保障システムに対して制度上の限界が指摘されている。年金制度改革はわが国の国内政策における重要且つ喫緊の検討課題であるが, 企業年金・退職給付制度といった社会保障制度はまた, わが国の高等教育機関や教職員にも共通する極めて深刻な問題といえる。特に私立大学・短期大学の経営母体である学校法人の年金問題は極めて厳しい状況にあり, 現在各機関・法人に課せられている年金掛け金率は1990年代前半比で既に二倍にまで引き上げられている。また法人化以降の国立大学法人においては, 文部科学省共済組合長期給付事業を継続しており, 教職員給与から掛金が天引きされているものの, 依然として不十分な引当金の問題が解決しておらず将来的な年金不安は免れない。 これらの背景を踏まえ, 流動的な雇用形態を特徴とするわが国の大学・短期大学教員にとって, 新たに導入された確定拠出型年金がもつポータビリティのメリットは享受されうるのか, また税制上の優遇措置や年金資産運用に係る投資リスクに対する教職員の個人選好について考察すると同時に, わが国の高等教育機関にとって適切且つ持続可能な年金・退職給付制度の在り方について検討する。また本稿では, 従来の確定給付型年金構造を基盤とする日英高等教育機関における年金制度と米国教育研究機関が導入する確定拠出型年金システムの制度比較をとおして, 各国の高等教育機関における運用実態と問題点を把握し, わが国の新たな退職給付システム構築に向けた制度設計について考察する。

Determinants of Defined Contribution Pension Choice in the Japanese Workforce

Using a survey data collected by the Japan Institute of Life Insurance in 2002, this study finds a significant gender gap in DC pension knowledge among workers employed at small- to medium-sized private firms in Japan. Even with similar DC knowledge, however, men and women reveal different preferences for DC pensions, indicating that their perceptional responses may widely differ from actual behaviors. Apart from the knowledge gap, the result shows evidence of the Prince Charming Syndrome among female employees as a significant source of the gender gap in DC participation rates. Among corporate pension covered employees the gender difference in the efficacy of DC portability is a more significant gap-generating factor. DC tax advantage is particularly favored by pension covered female employees over male counterparts, reducing the DC preference gap. Finally, single and unmarried female employees have a significant aversion to DC pensions due to the associated investment risk.

Effects of Disciplinary Actions on Incident Recurrence in Missouri Public Schools

This paper attempts to examine the extent to which the differentiated types of disciplinary actions, i.e., in-school-suspension, out-of-school suspension, and expulsion, have separate and differentiated effects on incident occurrence in school.　In doing so, we examine whether stringent actions, such as out-of-school suspension and expulsion taken in one year reduce the number of serious offense incidents in the year that immediately follows in elementary and secondary schools.　The result supports the practices of disciplinary actions based on a rational choice theory for preventive purposes.　Statistical evidence found in this study suggests that the practice of disciplinary actions such as removal of students effectively reduces the incidents of problematic behaviors in the following years.