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Shrinking population can have significant negative impacts on the social and economic fabric of a city. This paper aims to understand different urban transportation policies to respond to population decline in shrinking cities by examining two case studies of urban interventions in mid-size cities in Japan.

The paper analyzes the implementation of sustainable mobility strategies in the urban transport sector in the Japanese cities of Toyama and Kanazawa, which risk having their populations significantly reduced in the next decades. The analysis is based on case study research that uses the data and information collected through desk and field research. Interviews with local actors, as well as published policy and academic documents on the case studies provided critical data and information to analyze the case studies.

Both cities have tried to make urban mobility more sustainable via different strategies. Toyama used more structural changes, called the “sticks and dumplings” approach, having land use incentives and the Light Rail Transit reinforced by bus routes as the backbone of its strategy. Kanazawa relied on a city center revitalization plan to densify residential use in the city center.

More structural interventions are necessary to change the declining of shrinking cities, mitigating some of the negative effects. City administrations need to have clear policy priorities and should not allocate their limited resources to competing policy agendas.

The study is unique as it is one of the first efforts to analyze urban transportation interventions in shrinking cities in Japan.

This paper aims to present a Halbach magnet array linear machine, without an iron core and the electromotive force (EMF) characteristic results.

The linear machine was made with mover coils and a permanent magnet stator without an iron core. For an outline design, the analyzed magnetic density results were compared to the Halbach array with a horizontal array using the 3D finite element analysis. The test was carried out on an experimental system using a prototype linear machine. The EMF of the linear machine, with applied Halbach array magnetic circuit, is verified with the experiment.

The EMF peak value of the Halbach array is larger than the EMF of the horizontal array. Compared to the EMF in the experimental results, the effective value of the Halbach array is 1.69 times greater at an average operation speed of 373 mm/s.

The core-less linear machine has advantages of reduced cogging torque and iron loss because both the stator and the mover do not have an iron core. The stator and rotor will not rust from water. In this paper, it is clear from the basic electrical characteristics that the linear machine, with applied Halbach array, is larger than the EMF of the horizontal array.

This paper reports on the development of a repulsive type magnetic bearing system and the importance of permanent magnet (PM) configuration on the attenuation of radial disturbance. A new configuration of the permanent magnet of the bearing system resulting in improved stiffness characteristics in the radial direction has been described. Prototype models have been designed and developed in our laboratory and experiments carried out.

A facemask is used to cover the nose and mouth to protect a wearer's health in daily life. The authors’ long-term goal aimed to ensure more people with different physical characteristics and different attitudes can wear a high performance and comfortable facemask. In the present paper, wearers were surveyed by a questionnaire. Additionally, a prototype improvement pattern with a fit performance was investigated.

The survey of facemask wearers was conducted with local students and international students in Japan. A basic pattern with high fit performance was analyzed using a combination of triangles based on the measured three-dimensional coordinates of the head shape of a Japanese mannequin.

The aggregated survey data indicated that 85.0% of the Japanese female students, 77.2% of international female students, 70.8% of Japanese male students and 54.3% of international male students were facemask wearers. Wearers had problems related to their masks' thermal, hygroscopic and airflow properties. Japanese nonusers did not wear them due to dislike related to the problems above. International nonusers had no experience of wearing them. It was concerned that these discomfort factors influence fit performance and reduction of wearing effects. Therefore, the authors analyzed a sheet pattern with a high fit performance for a Japanese head mannequin.

These results will contribute in improving hygienic facemasks for people at the global level. The survey results and pattern analysis provide of necessary conditions of development of the mask with comfortable and high fit performance.

Sacred forests are biocultural landscapes deeply rooted in centuries-old traditions of spiritual veneration. These sacred sites, including shrines, temple forests churches and graveyards, have historically been significant reservoirs of traditional resource management practices underpinned by spiritual reverence. However, despite their cultural and ecological importance, the cultural ecosystem services inherent to these sacred forests remain unexplored, particularly in urban settings.

This study focused on six sacred sites within Kanazawa City, Japan, using a meticulous face-to-face survey with 342 participants. We collected data on the extent of forest utilisation, the breadth of activities engaged in by visitors and their holistic appraisal of the rendered cultural ecosystem services. The findings illustrate the multifaceted benefits of urban sacred forests, encompassing participation in religious ceremonies, cultural events and festivals, complemented by educational programming that elucidates the historical and traditional underpinnings of the shrines and their surrounding communities.

It has been observed that urban forests have a crucial role in providing spiritual and communal connectivity, preserving traditional heritage, offering vital aesthetic values as green spaces and making visitors connected with nature while they are in the urban landscape. However, a concerning trend has emerged, as the younger demographic appears to lack interest in participating in the stewardship and cultural activities associated with these biocultural landscapes. Community engagement strategies must be strengthened, conservation measures should be implemented and cultural awareness programs need to be established to ensure the perpetuation and appreciation of these valuable urban sacred forests.

This study provides original perspectives on the measurable cultural ecosystem services and intangible values associated with urban sacred forests using the sacred forests in Kanazawa City, Japan. Our research illuminates the various advantages that visitors derive by examining the intersection of spiritual traditions, resource management practices and cultural significance, which has been relatively unexplored. The present study provides a significant basis for establishing initiatives that seek to promote the cultivation of respect and responsibility towards urban sacred forests.

From the point of view concerned with the development of the information, oriented functions in social activities, recently power consumption has rapidly increased. On the other hand, ability of power supply has not been increased to follow this increasing consumption, because it is difficult to construct new power generation plants. Therefore, reserve capacity of power supply is going to be decreased and power down has become a serious problem. To prevent the serious power down and to maintain a stable power supply, we had already proposed a passive fault current limiter using a permanent magnet with high coercive force, high remanent magnetic flux density and a ferrite core with high permeability, low saturated flux density compared to that of a permanent magnet. In this paper, the flux distribution of the limiter is investigated using the three dimensional finite element method.

Customer satisfaction is a tool for measuring providers’ service quality and may be evaluated based on measurement of perceived quality and customer expectations with respect to several aspects of service. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between various factors in the integrated model, including patient expectation (PE), total quality management (TQM), perceived service quality (PSQ), patient satisfaction (PS), patient complaint (PC) and patient loyalty (PL).

A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to inpatients who were treated in April 2018 at a tertiary-level hospital in Vietnam. The data set was analyzed using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences version 25.0 for descriptive statistics and AMOS 25.0 for structural equation modeling.

All hypotheses were supported by the results. TQM and PE positively influence PSQ; PE influences TQM; PE, PSQ and TQM influence PS; PC and PS influence PL; and PS influences PC.

These findings have implications for management, highlighting the importance of considering these factors in strategic planning aimed at improving customer satisfaction.

An integrated model was used to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty. The analyses indicate that TQM, PE and PSQ are the main factors that directly influence PS.

Eddy currents, being of either positive or negative nature, have recently gained more and more importance in their positive aspects. New devices that may be called “eddy current based” have been worked out in recent years. This paper intends to present a quite new application of eddy currents which is an electromagnetic pump of novel design. The pump can be employed to transport liquid sodium for the Fast Breeder Reactor or other conducting materials, like melted metals. Eddy currents are used here for two pur‐poses: the first one is the typical usage to create electromagnetic force (as in tube‐type linear motors or conventional electromagnetic pumps) while the second one is just newly invented. Normally, in linear motors or conventional electromagnetic pump the air gap is relatively big which makes the leakage flux increase. Then the electromagnetic force is strongly reduced. To overcome this negative influence of the air‐gap, i.e. to minimize the leakage flux a conducting plate of special structure is inserted into the exciting coil. The first idea of it was given by K. Bessho for high magnetic field generation. Although the purpose of the application presented here is different from the initial one the idea is common and it is likely to be used for other purposes too. The basic features of the pump resulting from both numerical and experimental investigations are presented in the paper.

This study aims to examine the impacts of education for sustainable development subject(s) offered at University A, Japan and University B, Malaysia on the attitude and perception toward environment, social and economic issues of sustainability among the engineering undergraduates of the institutions from different countries.

A questionnaire survey was administered to 108 engineering students at University A, Japan and 117 engineering students at University B, Malaysia to measure their attitudes and perceptions toward sustainability.

The findings suggested that the sustainable development courses offered at University A, Japan, have developed positive attitudes and perceptions on environmental and social sustainability issues. The subjects on sustainable development offered at University B, Malaysia have developed positive attitudes and perceptions on the environmental issues of sustainability. Respondents from both universities, Japan and Malaysia, have not properly developed positive attitudes and perceptions toward economic sustainability issues. The findings also revealed that geographical boundaries have no influence toward the development of the attitude and perception toward sustainability issues.

This study provides insight into the attitude and perception toward the three pillars – environment, social and economic – of sustainability among engineering undergraduates from two different institutions of two different countries that apply different pedagogic strategies in education for sustainable development in educating undergraduates on sustainable development.