In the past, happiness studies has been dominated by the work of philosophers, economists and psychologists, but more recently there has been a growing interest from social scientist into the natures of happiness and wellbeing.This original collection draws on the latest empirical research to explore the practical challenges facing happiness researchers today, such as how to conduct happiness research in different cultural contexts, how to theorise wellbeing or how to operationalis...

Much of the existing literature on happiness in Japan has been produced in the field of economics and psychology and is quantitative in nature. Here, for the first time, a group of anthropologists and sociologists jointly analyze the state of happiness and unhappiness in Japan among varying social groups in its physical, interpersonal, existential and structural dimensions, offering new insights into fundamental issues.This book investigates the connections between sociostructural ...

Contemporary Japan is in a state of transition, caused by the forces of globalization that are derailing its ailing economy, stalemating the political establishment and generating alternative lifestyles and possibilities of the self. Amongst this nascent change, Japanese society is confronted with new challenges to answer the fundamental question of how to live a good life of meaning, purpose and value. This book, based on extensive fieldwork and original research, considers how specific g...

This book situates the 2020 Tokyo Olympics within the social, economic, and political challenges facing contemporary Japan.Using the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as a lens into the city and the country as a whole, the stellar line up of contributors offer hidden insights and new perspectives on the Games. These include city planning, cultural politics, financial issues, language use, security, education, volunteerism, and construction work. The chapters then go on to explore the many stakeh...

The Handbook of Transformative LearningThe leading resource for the field, this handbook provides a comprehensive and critical review of more than three decades of theory development, research, and practice in transformative learning. The starting place for understanding and fostering transformative learning, as well as diving deeper, the volume distinguishes transformative learning from other forms of learning, explores future perspectives, and is designed for sch...

Guided by the concept of synergy, this groundbreaking collection explores alternatives in the areas of counseling, education, and community health and development. Synergy refers to the process of two or more things coming together to create a new, greater, and often-unexpected whole. When synergy exists, formerly scarce resources can expand and become renewable and accessible to all. Drawing upon the diverse cultural experiences of Aboriginal groups in North America and around the world, ...

The author critically examines what role the notion of perfection should play in the debate regarding the ethics of human enhancement. He argues that the concept of «human perfection» needs to be central when morally assessing human enhancements. This anthropological ideal provides an additional norm to evaluate enhancing interventions, extending the well-established bioethical principles of autonomy, justice, and safety.

Class Rules challenges the popular myth that high schools are the “Great Equalizers.” In his groundbreaking study, Cookson demonstrates that adolescents undergo different class rites of passage depending on the social-class composition of the high school they attend. Drawing on stories of schools and individual students, the author shows that where a student goes to high school is a major influence on his or her social class trajectory. Class Rules is a penetrati...

Racism exists in today's society in many different forms and, for a huge number of people, is a fact of everyday life. Inspired and informed by the author's own research, this uniquely engaging book brings the focus to how racism affects the therapeutic relationship, creatively exploring the subject of working with people of African, Caribbean, Asian and Mixed heritage in both therapeutic practice and clinical supervision. Unpacking the latest concepts and theories, and offering a wea...

This volume documents the significant changes that have occurred in Japanese schools since the collapse of that nation’s economic bubble. Before the recession, Japan was the country that most educational reformers sought to emulate due to its students’ performance on standardized tests. Now, however, a different and more complicated picture of the Japanese education system emerges. This book places Japanese education in a global context, with particular attention given to how t...

This book contributes to the growing field of EFL teacher identity, which is now recognized to influence numerous aspects of classroom teaching and of student learning. It focuses on an under-researched, and yet highly influential group of teachers that shape English language education in Japan: Japanese university English teachers. In three interrelated narrative studies, it examines how four relatively new teachers develop professional identity as they become members of the community of ...

In this book, Dr. Tsuneyoshi observes the educational approach of two nations, one most often cited as being the home of rugged individualism, and the champion of the free market, the other more often cited as being the most groupist amongst the industrialized societies, known for strong central guidance. He argues that American approach individualizes assistance, is competitive, focuses on the child's cognitive sphere, differentiates its faculty, and each faculty deals with the child in a...