We are becoming more and more aware of the marks our human existence is leaving on our global environment: the Anthropocene as discourse of that awareness is turning into a living and lived-in reality. I argue that such discourse cannot remain the purview of the natural and social sciences alone: culture must be recognized in its pivotal role of…

"Akogare" [desire] is a Japanese word laden with cultural and emotive values. In the recent TESOL [Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages] studies, "akogare" has been conceptualized to emphasize the Japanese specific desire for English or "the West" in general. This study not only leverages such a…

Despite a culture with cooperation as a core value, (Nagao, Takashi, & Okuda, 2011) Japanese higher education generally uses rigid lecture-test teaching models that neither support nor condone small-group learning methods in the classroom. As a result, Japanese college students usually work outside the classroom to develop the collaborative…

Current theoretical models of distance learning are driven by two impetuses: a technical CMC element, and a pedagogical foundation rooted strongly in the Western world, and driven by social constructivism. By and large these models have been exported throughout the world as-is. However, previous research has hinted at potential problems with these…

This qualitative research investigates the meaning of "keitai" (mobile phones) for older Japanese adults between the ages of 59 and 79. Participants' emails from keitai, handwritten daily logs, and audio and video recordings from meetings and interviews were collected during my stay of nearly seven months in one of the largest cities in…

The objective of this dissertation is to explore the socio-cultural contextualization of the digital divide in Japanese society. I undertake this task by developing a theoretical and methodological framework based on the notion of "culture as models," while explicating the cultural dimensions of the digital divide and the dynamics of…

The Taiwan travel information resources used by American, German, and Japanese tourists in 2006 are identified and analyzed in this study. Differences among demographic groups regarding types of information accessed, spending behaviors, and levels of satisfaction with available travel resources were examined. The study was based on analysis of…