NEW RISKS, OLD WELFARE Japanese university students, work-related anxieties and sources of support
Not unlike many European societies in the 1970s and 1980s, Japan went through a rapid process of postindustrialization in the 1990s and 2000s. Whilst the implications were wide-ranging, young (would-be) labour market entrants were among the most affected groups: youth unemployment more than doubled, as did the prevalence of non-standard employment. Simultaneously, how to remain in employment and achieve work-life balance became serious concerns for women especially. This article builds on existing research as well as interviews with 38 university students in Kyoto to capture key features of such 'new risks' in Japan. Alongside intriguing gender and class differences, we find that the short- and long-term anxieties many students face have not yet been countered with public policy innovations. Emerging support measures outside the context of the family and the company remain not only inadequate but also largely unknown to students.
Promoting Gender Equality, Birthrates, Or Human Capital? Germany, Japan And Family Policy Discourse
This chapter first reviews the current international literature on family policies, discerning four prominent lines of argument in favour of family policy expansion. It examines related socio-economic trends in Germany and Japan and sketch out the 'family policy legacies' of these nations since the 1970s. The chapter then analyses family policy debates in both countries in the 2000s. It gauge the critical similarities and differences of German and Japanese family policy discourses and briefly considers implications for further research. The chapter addresses the broad puzzle of why and how employment-related family policies are being enacted in staunch male-breadwinner countries such as Germany and Japan. Keywords: family policy discourse; Germany; Japan; socio-economic trends
Silica in Soils1
Publisher Summary Silica in free and combined forms is a dominant component of the solid material of many soils, and dissolved silica is commonly a major solute of soil solutions. Breakdown of primary silicates, translocation of silica in solution, and deposition of secondary silica-containing substances are involved in the development of soils. Ions essential for the growth of plants are released to the soil solution as silicates weather, and these ions may be held against leaching at exchange sites on other silicates. Silica is absorbed in appreciable quantities by some plants and is returned to the surface of the soil as the plants decay. The nature and transformations of silica and silicates in soil are, thus, fundamental to an understanding of many aspects of soil and plant sciences.