Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Self-Owned Home Blood Pressure Monitoring (Hbpm) On Primary Care Patients With Hypertension: A Qualitative Study, Adina Abdullah

Adina Abdullah

Background: Home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) is gaining popularity among hypertensive patients. This study aimed to explore the influence of self-initiated HBPM on primary care patients with hypertension. Methods: Six in-depth interviews and two focus group discussions were conducted, taking into consideration the experiences of 24 primary care patients with hypertension. These patients had been using HBPM as part of their hypertension management. The overriding influences were grouped under themes which emerged from analyzing the data using the grounded theory approach. Results: There are both positive and negative influences of self-initiated HBPM. Patients used the readings of their HBPM to …

Smoked Success? Social, Cultural, And Legal Changes In The United States, Japan, And France Have Led To A Decline In Tobacco Use. Yet, Teenagers Refuse To Budge!, Dalila V. Hoover

Dalila V Hoover

Once considered a part of everyday life, tobacco consumption has become a global public health crisis that has transcended national borders. By the end of 2011, tobacco will have killed nearly six million people, including more than 600,000 of people exposed to tobacco smoke. If current smoking patterns continue, the toll will nearly double by 2030 with more than 8 million deaths. To safeguard the public’s health, the United States, Japan, and France have taken action to change the acceptability of smoking. Although they have adopted a different approach, they have successfully altered and redefined their cultural perception of tobacco …

Environmental Research With Undergraduates In East Asia: Collaborations In China And Japan, Gary A. Morris, Jon Schoer

Gary A. Morris

China: From 2007-2008 as part of a collaborative research project funded by the ASIANetwork, VU and the VLACD, 5 VU students (2 chemistry, 1 biology, 1 environmental science, and 1 civil engineering) spent 3 weeks in Zhejiang province, China and 7 additional weeks in northwest Indiana comparing and contrasting water quality issues and attitudes in the two regions. While in China, the students interacted with one another and graduate students, faculty, and staff from Zhejiang University and Zhejiang A &F University, and with multiple local & regional officials and residents to collect water quality data and opinions about key water …

Modern Rail Innovation In Japan, Sakdirat Kaewunruen

Sakdirat Kaewunruen

This presentation was invited by Engineers Australia to discuss the importance of railway experience in Japan. Abstract: Rail transport has become one of the most desirable and environmental-friendly means for mass transportation, especially when the up-and-coming peak oil crisis has threatened and discredited many other modes of transport (including traditional car vehicles, trucks, and air planes) from being economical, efficient and sustainable. In this presentation, the modern rail systems in Japan, which cover metro, local and high speed rails, will be discussed together with the infrastructure development, network strategy, ticketing and sources of revenues. Because Japan is the pioneer of …

The Dao Of Privacy, Lara A. Ballard

Lara A Ballard

It is widely believed in some Western circles that a single multilateral human rights treaty, based largely on European models for data protection, can standardize a right to privacy on a global basis. It is also widely believed that East Asia has no real tradition of privacy. Both of these beliefs are mistaken. This Article explores the underlying philosophical assumptions beneath Western concepts of privacy that currently prevail on both sides of the Atlantic, by examining privacy through the lens of classical Daoism and the Northeast Asian philosophical tradition. Taking a cue from Professor Julie Cohen’s Configuring the Networked Self, …

Review Of The Book Imposing Peace And Prosperity: Australia, Social Justice And Labour Reform In Occupied Japan By C. De Matos, Leon Wolff

Leon Wolff

Extract:

Christine de Matos finds little evidence of an Australia imprint on Occupation policy on Japan. If anything, Australia’s policy legacy on post-war Japan was “negligible” (p. 151): its proposals for structural reform were “neglected” (p.147); its practical policy inputs “arbitrary” (p. 74); and its engagement in Occupation control machinery a mere “preten[ce] to Allied cooperation and policy contributions” (p.74). This hardly is a promising basis for a book-length inquiry into Australia’s involvement in “imposing peace and prosperity in Occupied Japan”.

The Japanese Constitution As Law And The Legitimacy Of The Supreme Court’S Constitutional Decisions: A Response To Matsui, Craig Martin

Craig Martin

This article, from a conference at Washington University School of Law on the Supreme Court of Japan, responds to an article by Shigenori Matsui, “Why is the Japanese Supreme Court is so conservative?” Professor Matsui’s article makes the argument that a significant factor is the extent to which the judges fail to view the Constitution as positive law requiring judicial enforcement. It is novel in its emphasis on an explanation grounded in law, and the decision-making process, rather than the political, institutional, and cultural explanations that are so often offered. In this article, Borrowing from Kermit Roosevelt’s arguments on judicial …