Fuji Women's University

Abstract This paper investigates the occurrence of solitude speech in self-quotations of speech and thought by looking at non-standard written communication online in three Uralic languages: Estonian, Finnish, and Hungarian. Four different realizations of solitude speech are found in self-quotations of three languages: (i) evaluations of verbal information, (ii) evaluations of the reporter’s action, (iii) self-guiding solitude speech, and (iv) Goffmanian ‘response cries.’ The last type is typical for situations the speaker finds problematic and may occur in the presence of other speakers, while the other types occur when interlocutors are absent. Although evaluations of written verbal material are specific to mostly cultures with a written tradition, similar evaluations, though targeted at the surrounding environment, occur among speakers from cultures with predominantly oral traditions, illustrated with material from traditional narratives of the Northern Siberian Uralic language Nganasan.

Purpose Online interactive tools (OITs) such as Nearpod, Kahoot and BookWidgets hold significant potential for transforming higher education. However, a persistent and compelling phenomenon is their inconsistent adoption by faculty, which hinders the widespread realization of their pedagogical benefits. While existing research identifies individual adoption factors, it often fails to adequately explain this observed heterogeneity or, critically, how faculty overcome significant adoption barriers such as perceived complexity (PC) or technophobia (TE) – a crucial research gap. This study aims to address this by investigating how diverse configurations of enabling and inhibiting conditions, particularly pathways where specific enablers neutralize inhibitors, lead to faculty OIT adoption within higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Design/methodology/approach Grounded in dual factor theory (DFT), this research develops a conceptual framework incorporating five enablers – perceived usefulness (PU), result demonstrability (RD), facilitating conditions (FC), personal innovativeness (PI) and continuous feedback (CF) – alongside two key inhibitors – PC and TE. The selection of these constructs was informed by a comprehensive review of extant literature on technology adoption in educational settings. A structured questionnaire was distributed to the entire faculty population across all campuses of the higher colleges of technology (HCT) in the UAE, yielding 117 valid responses. Psychometric validation of the constructs was conducted using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), followed by fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to identify causal configurations associated with high OIT adoption. Findings The fsQCA revealed five distinct pathways (equifinal configurations) that are sufficient for high OIT adoption. A key finding is that, even in the presence of inhibitors like PC or TE, specific combinations of strong enablers (e.g. high PU coupled with robust FC and RD) effectively overcome these barriers, leading to successful OIT use. This underscores that inhibitor mitigation can be achieved through strategic amplification of enabling factors, offering a granular understanding of the complex dynamics governing OIT integration. Research limitations/implications While this study provides valuable insights into OIT adoption and inhibitor mitigation among faculty within HCT, UAE, its findings may not fully generalize. Future research could explore these configurational dynamics, including the interplay of different inhibitors and enablers, in diverse institutional settings. The study focused on a limited set of factors, leaving room for future work to incorporate additional elements like organizational culture. Reliance on self-reported data and subjective calibration in fsQCA, alongside a cross-sectional design, presents opportunities for future studies to integrate objective usage metrics and longitudinal approaches. Practical implications The identified configurations offer HEIs and policymakers an evidence-based diagnostic framework to design context-specific interventions. Rather than uniformly reducing all barriers, efforts should prioritize the strategic amplification of key enablers capable of neutralizing specific inhibitors. This insight is particularly valuable for institutions seeking to enhance digital pedagogy through tailored, resource-efficient strategies. The findings of this research provide a roadmap for institutions to enhance digital pedagogy, ultimately contributing to a more skilled workforce and greater educational inclusivity. Originality/value This study challenges the assumptions of traditional linear adoption models by applying a configurational approach using fsQCA. It contributes to the literature by demonstrating that distinct combinations of enablers can mitigate the effects of adoption barriers, an area that remains underexplored with such empirical depth. From both academic and institutional standpoints, this research offers a richer understanding of faculty decision-making and practical pathways for fostering digital innovation in higher education.

Abstract Second language instructors often have students talk about their own experiences rather than abstract impersonal topics. Intuitively, such topics seem more likely to encourage student engagement. Unfortunately, virtually no empirical research has examined the effects of personal prompts on spoken output. To address this gap in research, the current study (N = 117) compares the spoken output of Japanese university English students who responded to a personal prompt with students responding to an impersonal prompt. Output was recorded in transcripts and then analyzed using a battery of measures related to complexity, accuracy, and fluency. Findings showed that personalized prompts were associated with greater fluency. Moreover, there was some evidence that impersonal prompts led to output with greater lexical complexity. Rates of accuracy were similar in both groups. Correlational analysis suggested that lexical sophistication was associated with reduced fluency. The conclusion addresses practical implications and avenues for further research.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is postprandially secreted from enteroendocrine L-cells and enhances insulin secretion. Currently, it is still controversial whether postprandial GLP-1 responses are altered in obesity and diabetes. To address the issue and to find out possible factors related, we compared postprandial GLP-1 responses in normal rats and in diabetic rats chronically fed an obesogenic diet. Male Wistar rats and diabetic Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats were fed either a control diet or a high-fat/high-sucrose (HFS, 30 % fat and 40 % sucrose) diet for 26 weeks. Meal tolerance tests were performed for monitoring postprandial responses after a liquid diet administration (62·76 kJ/kg body weight) every 4 or 8 weeks. Postprandial glucose, GLP-1 and insulin responses in Wistar rats fed the HFS diet (WH) were higher than Wistar rats fed the control diet (WC). Although GK rats fed the HFS diet (GH) had higher glycaemic responses than GK rats fed the control diet (GC), these groups had similar postprandial GLP-1 and insulin responses throughout the study. Jejunal and ileal GLP-1 contents were increased by the HFS diet only in Wistar rats. Furthermore, mRNA expression levels of fatty acid receptors (Ffar1) in the jejunum were mildly (P = 0·053) increased by the HFS diet in Wistar rats, but not in GK rats. These results demonstrate that postprandial GLP-1 responses are enhanced under an obesogenic status in normal rats, but not in diabetic rats. Failure of adaptive enhancement of GLP-1 response in GK rats could be partly responsible for the development of glucose intolerance.

専用液肥SSZ-44を葉面散布することによって開発した亜鉛強化大豆のラットにおける生体内有効利用性について検討した．SD/SPF系雄性ラット（3週齢）を予備飼育後，標準飼料をcontrol群とし，普通大豆飼料群，普通大豆と同量の亜鉛強化大豆を添加した亜鉛強化飼料群，普通大豆にグルコン酸亜鉛を添加し，亜鉛強化大豆と同じ亜鉛含量に調整したグルコン酸亜鉛飼料群およびZnを含有しない亜鉛欠乏群の5群を用いて，3週間飼育した．体重は，亜鉛強化大豆飼料群がcontrol群，普通大豆飼料群および亜鉛欠乏群と比較して有意に増加した．飼料効率も亜鉛強化大豆飼料群はcontrol群および亜鉛欠乏群と比較して有意に高値を示した．血中ALP活性は，亜鉛強化大豆飼料群およびグルコン酸亜鉛飼料群が亜鉛欠乏群と比べ有意に高値を示した．さらに，骨強度は，大豆添加群がcontrol群および亜鉛欠乏群と比較して有意な増加を示した．以上の結果より，亜鉛強化大豆中亜鉛はフィチン酸の影響を受けず，生体内で有効に利用されることが明らかになった．

Previous research has shown that Japanese learners experience difficulty in developing sensitivity to many English phonemic contrasts. An unexplored area in this research concerns learners’ awareness of which contrasts pose the greatest difficulty. The current research seeks to fill this gap in our understanding by comparing EFL learners’ (N = 63) ranking of nine problematic contrasts with the ranking determined by their actual performance on a minimal pairs test. Results showed that although the participants were aware of oft-discussed problematic contrasts such as /r/ versus /l/, they underestimated the difficulty of other contrasts such as those that occur between final nasals. Results of a posttest given one month following a brief practice session involving feedback resulted in significant improvement (p = .002). Participants’ difficulty rankings were compared with perceptions of native and nonnative English language instructors. Possible explanations for the findings are discussed along with the pedagogical recommendations. 先行研究によると、日本人学習者にとって英語における音素対立の多くはその弁別が困難であるとされている。一方、音素対立に関する学習者の認識と実際の弁別の難易度との関連は明らかにされていない。本論では、EFL学習者 63名 を対象とし、9つの音素対立について、自身の認識に基づいた難易度と実際のパフォーマンスによって示された難易度を、ミニマル・ペアを用いたテストによって比較した。この事前テストでは、/r/と/l/のように度々議論される難易度の高い音素対立に関しては、被験者はその難しさをよく理解している一方、末尾の鼻音に見られる音素対立のような他の音素対立の難易度については、その認識度の低さが示された。簡単な練習の後にフィードバックを行い、その1か月後に実施した事後テストでは、被験者のパフォーマンスは有意に向上していた (p = .002)。この結果を、英語の母語話者および非母語話者の指導者が持つ、学習者の音素弁別の難易度に関する認識とも比較した。最後に、得られた結果を説明し得る要素および教授法の提案も行った。

Collective evidence underpinning the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis demonstrates that interventions to improve the nutritional environment during early life offer an important opportunity for primary prevention of DOHaD-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). This evidence has led to important programs targeting pregnancy and early childhood. However, addressing the full potential of the DOHaD paradigm also requires consideration of the periconceptional period, and therefore health behaviors prior to pregnancy and parenthood, alongside the complex array of personal and societal factors influencing these behaviors. Therefore, adolescence, the life stage during which cognitive, psychosocial, and lifestyle behaviors that persist into adulthood are formed, should be a key DOHaD intervention point. Schools and tertiary institutions play a major role in the lives of adolescents, supporting the development of capabilities associated with engaged citizenship including scientific and health literacies and key life competencies. Providing young people who are developing these capabilities with opportunities to examine evidence about NCD risk and prevention can empower adolescents to engage in development of and/or participation in evidence-based actions that can contribute toward interrupting the transgenerational conditioning/programming of NCD vulnerability. Realizing the potential of interventions that target the adolescent life stage requires effective cross-sectoral partnerships between education, science, and public health. Education should be a key partner, bringing important expertise alongside that of health and science to facilitate the task of the translation of DOHaD evidence to adolescents within community settings.