Group Report:
Producing Mirage Members: S. T S. S T. A A. K
A mirage cannot be formed without a boundary
layer which is found between two layers which have
different density. Generally speaking, the density of
cold air is higher than that of hot air. The trail of
light can be changed by their difference of the air’s
density. Actually, mirages are formed by the
difference. For example, the light goes as the left
slide shows.
This machine makes a boundary layer where light
is refracted by using the difference of temperature
between the room air and the hot air released from a
hair dryer.
We could observe a reverse image and an extended
image, but could not observe an erect image. We
thought that the reason for our failure was that we
could not adjust the boundary layer exactly.
In Toyama, we can see a lot of natural
phenomena and most characteristic of them is
the “mirage”. A mirage is a phenomenon in
which an object that is located far away is seen
differently. Nobody has succeeded in producing
a complete mirage but our seniors tried it for a
long time. So, we decided to continue their work
and began studying how to produce it.
What Lies Behind the Creation of the Emoji?
Group 5 : N. K, H. T, H. S, K. I
Emojis are so widely used in the world these days. It is a new
visual language for mobile phones created by Japanese.
On the other hand, on SNS there is a phenomenon called ‘enjo’,
or flaming. ‘Enjo’ occurs when someone makes an inappropriate
remark and many people respond with very rude remarks as well.
Mostly Japanese people are reluctant to give their opinions and try
to avoid argument when they talk with someone face-to-face since
they are trying to be considerate of others. In contrast, on SNS,
Japanese people use such offensive words because you can send
any message without giving your name.
Today, many Japanese people use SNS, such as Facebook,
Twitter, LINE and so on. We usually use emoji on SNS, and
facial emoji in particular.
For our research, we asked Japanese high school students
what their motives were in using emoji. In our research, many
high school students answered that they use emoji to express
their emotions or put the other party at ease.
According to these results, we find the following things. First,
from the motive for using emoji, Japanese young people tend to be
considerate of others when making a remark. Second, from the
phenomenon called ‘enjo’, Japanese young people tend to convey
their opinions clearly in anonymous situations. As ‘enjo’ shows,
Japanese people are not good at conveying their opposing
opinions clearly when talking face-to-face. Therefore even when
we want to express disagreement, we tend to remain silent. We
think this is a problem for Japanese people in expressing
themselves to others.
What Should We Do to Balance Work and Childcare?
Members: R. H, R. Y, M. O, A. K
What should we do to balance work and childcare?
“My child failed to enter the nursery! Go to hell Japan!”
A Japanese housewife said that on the Internet and this
comment became big news throughout Japan. In fact, it
became one of the most famous buzzwords in 2016.
Now, in a big city such as Tokyo, there are many children on the waiting list for nursery.
Usually, women take parental leave for a year after they give birth to a baby to raise their child at
home. Later, they want to return to work but most of them can’t, since their child can’t enter a
nursery. It is because of a shortage of nurseries especially in an overpopulated city such as Tokyo.
This limits Japanese women’s advancement in society.
So the Japanese government started
trying to solve the problem of waitlisted
children. Look at the pictures on the right
side. In March 2016, the blog post was
written. In July, the 24th election of The
Upper House was held with campaign
promises that support services relating to
child care would increase. In August, the
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of
Japan promoted a reservation system for
nurseries, and the government considered a
tax reduction for families with small children and clarified the definition of waitlisted children. In
September, a measure for continuous child care was released.
Furthermore, due to the stereotype that women must do
housework and raise children, women have a heavy burden.
In order to see if this stereotype really exists, we asked our
fellow high school students what they think about child care.
As a result, out of 267 students, 30% of both boys and girls
answered that mainly women must do housework and raise
children. From this result, we could see that this old
fashioned idea still remains in Japan, even among younger generations in the twenty-first century.
Please look at this picture.
What is this?
Yes!! That’s right!
This is a picture of a dead bird. This bird couldn’t eat
food because he ate so much plastic by mistake.
Recently, plastics, especially micro-plastics, are
causing a lot of environmental issues.
Here, let me explain about micro-plastics.
Micro-plastics come from larger plastic being broken
by ultraviolet rays and ocean waves, and also from
micro-beads in facial cleansers.
This plastic has a large risk because it may absorb
chemicals in polluted areas and release them over
time.
Wow, what a beautiful view!
Well, ... is this a bird?
Sadly, this is also a beach we have in our city. The
seashore is polluted with so much garbage.
Why do you think there comes to be such a difference
in the amount of garbage? In Toyama, some parts
of the seashore are easy for garbage to accumulate
on because of the ocean current.
This is one of the most beautiful views we have in
our city. Let’s look at another part of the beach.
Oh, this is so dirty…
Save Our Ocean Member: A. I, C. K, S. N, A. T, K. H
Our hometown Toyama is rich in nature with its beautiful sea. We talked about the problems of
ocean garbage and what we can do about it.
.
CURIE ENGINE
E. T, K. R, K. S, M. H
What kinds of eco-friendly engines do you know, such
as hydrogen engine? Have you ever heard of the curie
engine? The engine doesn’t emit exhaust gasses but
uses exhaust heats to run so we can contribute for our
society. However, it can’t generate high power so it
hasn’t been practical use.
Recently, we have many chances to consider eco. What
are you doing for the environment?
We will explain the principle of running of the engine. The
engine uses the properties of the strong magnetic substances.
Strong magnetic substances are attracted by magnets, such as
iron, cobalt and nickel. Strong magnetic substances each lose
their magnetism when they reach a specific temperature. For
example, iron loses its magnetism when it reaches at 1418゜F.
And then, the substances get their magnetism again when they
get cool. The engine runs by repeating of this phenomenon.
So, we made the second engine. We put nickel plate
between wooden boards. Look at figure of this engine.
This engine has the same principle as the first one.
However, this engine didn’t run. We suspected that this is
too heavy to run, this friction between the shaft of rotation
is high and neodymium magnets lose their magnetism by
fire because neodymium magnets are strong magnetic
substances.
The first machine consists of Y-shaped iron wire,
neodymium magnet, and candle. Look at figure of this
engine. This part is heated by fire. So, this point loses its
magnetism. Another part is attracted by magnet because
another part still has its magnetism. The engine
generates power by repeating this movement. Although
we succeeded in this experiment, we weren’t able to get a
high power.
#1
#2
(figure1)
Welcome to Our Hometown
Member: H. K, K. K, Y. H, Y. T
.
Toyama faces the sea and has high mountains. Toyama
has four distinct seasons, so we can always see beautiful
scenery in Toyama. In spring, we enjoy about 1,800 cherry
trees in a park near our high school. In summer, we enjoy
the majestic view of Mt. Tate looming 3000m above Toyama
Bay. It is breathtakingly beautiful. In fall, we see beautiful
red leaves in mountainous areas. In winter, it snows in
Toyama a lot just like Boston. There are very traditional
houses near the mountains. They are strong houses for
heavy snow. I’m sure you can enjoy a lot of beautiful scenery
in Toyama.
Boston is famous for lobsters, and Toyama also has various nice
seafoods, which are caught in Toyama Bay. For example, Shiroebi has
very sweet flavor, and because of its beautiful appearance, it is often
referred to as "Jewel of Toyama Bay." Hotaruika is called firefly
squid in English. They come to Toyama Bay between March and June,
and flash beautifully from underneath the water. Buri, yellowtail, is
very delicious in winter and loved by people around Japan as well as
local people. In Toyama, you can enjoy the blessing of rich nature.
Why don’t you come to Toyama?
Takaoka is now very famous for its traditional crafts and
animation.
Takaoka has statue made of copper, the Great Buddha
of Takaoka. The copperware industry has prospered in
Takaoka. Doraemon is one of the most famous comics in
Japan and read around the world. English versions are
sold, and Doraemon animation is shown in America.
Doraemon’s creator, Fujiko F. Fujio, was born in Takaoka.
When we walk in Takaoka, we can see Doraemon in many
places. Furthermore, Takaoka has world heritage. This is
“mikurumayama festival.” This festival has been held for
more than 400 years. We love Takaoka City!
Takaoka High School is located in Takaoka City, Toyama
Prefecture. Many high schools in Japan have school uniforms. In
our school, girls wear sailor uniforms and boys wear “gakuran.”
We have summer version and winter version. We have many
events. We’ll tell you about two of them. First, about the sports
festival. It is held in June. It’s a very exciting event. We enjoy
various games. Students in each grade compete with other
classes, so the bond of the classmates becomes stronger. Our
classmates are our teammates. We make efforts to win first prize
in the three sections; Competition, Cheering, and Decoration.
Second, about midwinter training. It is practice in the early
morning of the coldest month. Boys practice Judo or Kendo.
Girls play creative dances. This training is very hard. However,
the training in the harsh environment enables us to strengthen
not only our bodies but also our minds.
Takaoka High School has a lot of charms. We are enjoying
our school life.
Eye contact
Pause, Stress, Loud voice,
Slowly, Simple words
Gesture
Confidence, Passion
Memorize points
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