Vol.19,No2 Jan,2004

Title

Voting rights and naturalization for the Korean residents in Japan : Theoretical categorization and structural analysis

Author

Kojiro NAKAHARA (University of Michigan)

Summary

This study discussed, theoretically and empirically, the intention to acquire voting rights and citizenship for the Korean Residents in Japan. First, their intentions were categorized as either purposeful or expedient, and either differential or assimilative. With basic analyses, the validity of the categorization was supported. Causal factors explaining intention were examined through hierarchical logistic regression models. The intension to acquire local voting right increased through differential factors, while it decreased through factors that pointed toward resistance against assimilation. The intention to acquire voting rights increased through general attitudes and attributions independent of individual factors, and these variables had little to do with assimilation. The intention to naturalize increased through affection toward Japan, and decreased through ethnic self-esteem as 9 Korean. This suggests that the intent to naturalize is assimilative. These analyses indicate the necessity of an active role on the part of the social environment for purposeful naturalization which preserves the ethnic identity of the Koreans.

Key words

voting rights, naturalization, the Korean residents in Japan, assimilation, differentiation

Title

The effect of the generalized tit-for-tat strategy on solving second-order free-rider problems : A computer simulation study.

Author

Shigeru TERAI and Toshio YAMAGISHI (Graduate School of Letters, Hokkaido University)
Motoki WATABE (Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University)

Summary

Using computer simulations, this study examined whether mutual cooperation can occur in social dilemmas characterized by the absence of a central authority. In the absence of a central authority, provision of a sanctioning system that administers selective incentives-a well referred solution to social dilemmas-constitutes a second-order social dilemma. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the generalized tit-for-tat (TFT) strategy, which is an extended version of tit-for-tat that is applied in n-person games, can help solve the second-order social dilemma. The results of computer simulations indicated that the second-order social dilemma could be resolved when group members adopt the Generalized TFT. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the Generalized TFT strategy could survive and prosper in a population originally dominated by "probabilistic actors."

Key words

selective incentive, tit-for-tat, frequency dependent behavior

Title

Analysis of the communication network of elderly people in Japanese rural areas

Author

Sumire HIROTA (Faculty of Liberal Arts for Global Studies and Leadership, Tokyo Jogakkan College)

Summary

Everyday communication behaviors of 130 elderly people in Japanese rural areas were analyzed through Hayashi's quantification method type 3. Results revealed that communication with family members was the main dimension, and that their four main types of social networks were consistent with those found in previous studies. There was a significant difference in the number of household members constituting the four types, but the private restricted type did not prove to have the least number of household members. The family dependent type had the least tendency to sympathize with people having committed suicide due problems with their family business, and this type also had the lowest level of anxiety. The local self-contained type had a significantly higher level of anxiety about the care they would receive in the future. An understanding of these types should aid in appropriate provision of social support for elderly people.

Key words

types of communication network, elderly people, Hayashi's quantification method type 3, suicidal tendency

Title

Factors of missing values in mail surveys: Findings from an elderly population

Author

Ikuko SUGAWARA ( The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology)

Summary

The objectives of this study were to identify characteristics of items which are susceptible to missing values in mail surveys, as well as characteristics of the people who fail to respond, for people aged 60+. The item characteristics under study were: the location of the item, item branching and extension, fact or opinion items, the number of response alternatives, and the total number of words in the item. The results showed a robust effect for item blanching on the missing value rate. As for respondents, age, sex, education, health and financial condition, household composition, and offering of comments were examined. Age, education, health, and household composition were related to the missing value rate. These findings suggest that special attention is required in designing questionnaires.

Key words

mail survey, missing values, elderly population, question characteristics, respondent characteristics

Title

Social anxiety, Internet use and personal relationships on the Internet

Author

Youichi NISHIMURA (Graduate School of Literature, Aoyama Gakuin University)

Summary

This study investigated the motives of socially anxious people who use the Internet, how they rate their communication on the Internet, and how they feel in terms of adaptation and satisfaction of their personal relationships on the net. The main results were as follows. (1) People who had a high level of trait social anxiety, especially those under twenty years of age, were highly motivated to use the Internet for the formation of personal relationships. (2) Total evaluation of Internet communication was not as favorable as that for face-to-face communication, but socially anxious people did evaluate their Internet communication higher for than for face-to-face with regard to affective evaluation. (3) Those with trait social anxiety, had greater adaptation and satisfaction in personal relationships on the Internet than those without the trait, only if the motivation to use the Internet for formation of personal relationships was high, and the evaluation of Internet communication was also high.

Key words

trait social anxiety, Computer-Mediated Communication, Internet use motive, personal relationships on the Internet

Title

Self-serving versus group-serving tendencies in causal attributions of Chinese people

Author

Ma WEIJUN (Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kobe University)

Summary

The present study examined whether causal attributions of success and failure of Chinese people differ between personal or group performance situations. Three hundred Chinese participants made attributions about their success or failure in a fictitious social skill test. The result indicated a self-serving tendency in the personal performance condition. This result suggests that people in Asia do not represent the self-effacing tendency at all times. Participants indicated a group-serving tendency in the group performance condition, suggesting that Chinese do demonstrate group-serving tendency depending on success or failure. An important result was that group-serving tendency was more salient than self-serving. This suggests that Chinese self-enhancement is more readily expressed through positive causal attribution regarding the in-group.

Key words

self-serving bias, self-effacing bias, group-serving bias, independent view of self, interdependent view of self

Title

Consumer dispute resolution by third party intervention: An experimental study on procedural fairness

Author

Keiko IMAZAI, Kenichi OHBUCHI and Kei-ichiro IMAZAI (Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University)

Summary

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of third party intervention on consumer dispute resolution. ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) has gained increasing interest because of its procedural flexibility and low cost. Since it generally lacks legal power to gain obedience, it is crucial for ADR to prompt disputants' spontaneous acceptance of a decision. Based on two models of procedural fairness, we predicted that a third party's intervention controlled by politeness and voice would affect the perception of procedural fairness, which in turn would increase satisfaction with a decision. We experimentally manipulated politeness and voice, and examined the response of 60 students in a hypothetical consumer dispute. We obtained results consistent with our hypotheses. These results suggested that the perception of procedural fairness of ADR is prompted by sense of both control and status, though its effect on satisfaction was smaller than on favorability of the decision toward personal interests.

Key words

consumer dispute, third party intervention, procedural fairness, conflict resolution, alternative dispute resolution