HI, ladies!!
It is Monday, September 29, 2008, today, and has been raining since early morning. Cold rain, isn’t it?
Today’s topic:
Should Japan strictly protect the “peace” constitution?
Recently the agreement over the amendment of the constitution has become active in Japan. I believe, however, it is not good for Japan’s security. Thanks to the existing constitution, we have managed not to fight in any wars and live peacefully somehow.
Firstly, it is clearly stated in the constitution that we won’t to go to war except in the case of self-defense. Even though its concept was given us from the then US occupation authorities, we would have continued the war without it.
Secondly, those who are trying to amend it intend to strengthen Japan’s power as a state under the Imperial family. But in order not to repeat the same mistake in the wartime, which caused Asian nations pain, we shouldn’t reinforce our imperial system.
Thirdly, Japan is the only victim of the atomic bombs and we, therefore, have to use the right and the duty in expressing the uselessness of an a-bomb around the world. We can do it with this constitution.
In conclusion, Japan should protect the peace constitution so as to safeguard our society from any wars. Moreover, we can show a good example of a peaceful country without armament and contribute to the world peace.
(201)
I don’t think that such a controversial issue would become a question of the STEP test…
Well. See you again, bye!
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Hi, ladies!
What a cool day today! I have heard one prediction several years ago. A meteorologist said that temperature would not change slowly in near future but would change suddenly just like “on or turn off heater”. I have really felt that it is really happening.
By the way, I felt interesting the story of the Shinto priest, who were singing hymns. The attitude to acceptance other culture and merge it with ours is familiar events around us. Masako Ogawa, who was a devout Christian doctor, devoted all her life to lepers with Christian belief. She, however, didn’t stick to the way of Christian funeral ceremony for her death. She wanted her body to be cremated and now she is sleeping under the graves of Buddhism.
Bye, my dearest friends. See you soon.
Dear Cherry and friends,
Hello. How did you spend the weekend?
Cherry, what did you read last night?
On Saturday morning, I was told that one of our computers didn't work well because it didn't have enough memory. Father said that the PC was so old that we had to buy another. But I insisted that all we had to is to increase the size of memory. I ordered 2 pieces of 2GB memory through the Internet right away. However, the vendor replied that they were out of this type of memory and my order was canceled. While I was looking for another vendor, I found that I was wrong. I had to get 4 pieces of 1GB memory. Both sets of memory equal to 4GB memory but we can't install any piece of 2GB memory on the PC. I would have almost wasted money as well as time.
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Compared to Miyake-san's article that we discussed last week, Dyhouse's book uses fewer transitions. Miyake-san's explicit transitions make readers understand her logic clearly. Perhaps, Dyhouse didn't have to use many transitions. Plenty of cases are covered in this book.
Chapter 2 of Dyhouse's book starts with the chaperonage of professors' wives who supported the activities of women students. “This was the case with Mary Paley Marshall.” (p. 58) (Incidentally, instead of 'for example,' the phrase, 'this was the case,' is used as a transition. The pronoun, 'this,' appears so often.) Mary Paley Marshall started a women's debating society. Although Mrs. Marshall was not appointed formally, her role was that of the Tutor to Women Students.
The first women to hold formal appointments in universities were usually referred to as “Lady Tutors.”
(p.59)
The cases of this chapter are about controversies over women who supervised the women students.
The first case is about Rosa Morison (1883-1912) who acted as Lady Superintendent of Women Students in University College London (UCL). In 1883, Morison declined to permit Annie Besant's application for admission to the classes in the college. Annie Besant had been involved in the contentious debates over birth control. Her neo-Malthusianism was regarded as dangerous.
Rosa Morison's other works were also noteworthy.
From 1885 to 1889, she functioned as secretary of the Women Students' Debating Society.
In 1897, she called the first meeting of the University College Women's Union Society.
In 1902, she established “Women's Fund.”
She left more than £5,000 to the University of London and more of this sum to College Hall in her will.
For necessary qualifications as early supervisors of women students, nothing more than the most discreet form of feminism would have been recommended.
“Lady Tutors” were expected to have academic credibility and, for example in Birmingham, to “combine pastoral, social, tutorial, lecturing obligations with remedial teaching and career advisory work.” (p. 66)
The job description of women supervisors of women students was controversial. For the matter of the appointment of a Lady Superintendent or other responsible positions, some argued that the interest of female students should be focused mainly. Such an argument diminished their academic career and obscured their status.
In Sheffield, Mrs Lucy Storr-Best appointed as Tutor to Women Students on a part-time basis had found “the matron or chaperon role” barely tolerable and supervision of women student a disagreeable and anxious work. In spite of her discontent, she had not been consulted or recognized by the male academics in the university. (p.76)
In Manchester, Senior Tutor to Women Students, Phoebe Sheavy handled years of considerable tension between men and women students. However, her successor's post was part-time “Advisor.”
In Leeds, when the first Tutor to Women Students, Hannah Robertson (1912-1921), retired, “a committee charged with the matter of considering her replacement unanimously decided that the work involved in the double office of Mistress of Method and Tutor to Women Students had escalated and was too much for one person.” (p.77)
To divide responsibilities, the committee decided to create a new post, “Dean of Women Students.” Alice Silcox was thus appointed to this post. Her annual salary was £800.
In Birmingham, Miss Jane Johnston Milne appointed as Senior Tutor to Women Students had begun her work “without any particular definition of” her duties. (p.80)
This case in Birmingham influenced the decision made by a committee which appointed Lady Mary Ogilvie as a successor to Alice Silcox in Leeds.
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A book has arrived this afternoon. The title of the book is Nagasaki Kyoryuchi no Seiyojin . It was published 6 years ago. As I expected, one of the Westerners found in this book is Eliza Goodall, a widow who came to Japan and managed a girls' school in Nagasaki. She was not an official CMS missionary but worked for CMS mission.
Talk to you later.
It's a little chilly.
Take care.
Hello, Cherry and my precious friends.
Typhoon 15 caused a great damage to Taiwan, heading toward Kyushu. For coming two days we’re going to have rain. The rainy day made me feel colder.
It’s exciting to read ‘education of John S. Mill’ By Alice Rossi.
The education of John Mill began with Greek at the age of three, Latin in his eighth year. He attempted to write at the age of eleven about a history of the Roman Government. James Mill (his father) was his intellectual mentor with Jeremy Bentham. Young Mill had the most intensive study regimen that any child has ever been subjected to.
The aim of the two older men was make young Mill "a worthy successor" to carry on their work in utilitarian economics and politics.
So it is scarcely surprising that Mill were not given much chance to cultivate his emotional self nor his social skills. He had a quality of aloof reserve and had difficult to intimate relations with others.
However, the author doubts that these characterizations are only a partial truth. On the contrary, she insists that Mill was open and expressive in his relations with others. The fact that Mill was in close and intimate contact with Harriet Taylor clearly proves this.
I'll keep reading more to write.
Good night, my sweet friends.
Hi, ladies.
Again it takes a lot of time to reaccess the blog. Sigh...
I had read a life story titled JOSEPHIN BUTER written by Jane Jordan (2001) during my stay in hospital. It showed me an unfamiliar world of nineteenth-century England as well as a fortitude life of an upper-middle class woman activist. While reading, I encountered many questions. Most of them are questions what made J. Butler and people surrounding her think and act that way. They were partly answered by writings assigned by Dr. A; writings written by F. K. Prodhaska, Anne Summers, Jessica Gerard, and Joan N. Burstyn.
Firstly, F. K. Prodhaska (1980) (Women and Philanthropy in Nineteenth-Century) argues benevolent activities of Victorian society and give readers a rough picture of the period, social background of J. Butlerﾕs campaign. He interprets the ingeniously organized system and mechanism of philanthropic activities that women and children of almost all classes enrolled, ranging from charity bazaars to visiting work. It is a good guide for getting the basic knowledge of Victorian society. Names of renowned activists and organizations are introduced along with their activities. Ellis Hopkins, Louisa Twining, Sarah Martin, Elizabeth Fry, and Catherine Tait are names that I get to know along with their field of work in this book. He suggests that sectarian rivalry among churches affected primary education, which would not have happened in Japan. Although, religion seems to be one of the most important factors when motivation of benevolent work is considered, there remains a question why religion could drive (manipulate) women effectively as charity workers and missionaries.
To be continued.
Hi, ladies!
The temperature has lowered drastically. It is hard to choose what to put on. Like on and off, we seem to have only summer and winter. Where can we find fall?
Today I'd liket to write on this topic; why is it becoming more common for Japanese to change jobs.
The reason are threefold. One is the growing shift from the lifelong employment and seniority system to the performance-based pay system under the prolonged recession in Japan. In the recession the companies seek for the effectiveness, so they spend less hours to educate employees. Newly-employed with less follow- up training quit their jobs more easily. Sdcondly, under the merit system workers have no qualms about changing jobs for better working conditions. There is a growing demand for the immediate usable workforce. It encourages the job change. The third reason is declining loyalty to companies. Especially today's young workers put their personal life before their work under the influence of Western liberalism and individualis. Those self- seeking individuals don't hesitate to quit their jobs for freewheeling lifestyles. Not only seeking the self satisfaction, some young people put families first. If the parter has a good job and doesn't want to move, he/she declines the offer to move and choose to quit his/her job.
To write logically is so difficult.
Hi, Cherry and ladies!
Today’s topic is should capital punishment be abolished?
Capital punishment should not be abolished. There are three reasons to support this argument.
First, the number of hatred and vicious crimes has been increasing so that a more portion of people wants to retain capital punishment. In Japan people believe that if one takes the life of another, one should pay with one’s life.
Secondly, capital punishment works as a deterrent of committing dreadful crimes such as murder. To retain the deth penalty could stop more cruel crimes. The existence of capital punishment will be effective measures to decrease the number of vicious crimes.
Thirdly, when we think of crime victim’s feeling, capital punishment should not be abolished. A man whose wife and his baby were killed mercilessly wanted the defendant sentenced to death. It is a very natural feeling that we can understand.
The conclusion is that capital punishment is a proper penalty who takes another life.
October 1, 2008 12:08 AM
Dear Cherry and friends,
Book report from Chapter 3 of Dyhouse's book
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Chapter 3
Residence: halls and hostels for women students
• The ideal of college life
This chapter picks up some cases around Halls of Residence for women university students. From students' letters sent to parents or fiancé, Dyhouse discovered they enjoyed having a room of one's own in which to read and study unfettered by domestic obligations.
Some feminist supporters argued that halls of residence would provide “unparalleled opportunities for women to study,” to cultivate their public spirit, and to absorb corporate virtues such as esprit de corps and noblesse oblige. (p.92)
• The practicalities of provision
“The need to establish residential provision was driven by the Board of Education policies on teacher education.” The Day Training Department of Liverpool's hall of residence for women students regulated that “all women students who could not travel daily from their homes must live in the Hostel.” (p.95)
• Lady superintendents, principals and wardens
Superintendents of women's hostels had other titles such as Lady Superintendent, Lady Principal, or Warden.
Lady superintendents were ladies in the first place. Upper-class educated women were attracted by these positions. The first Lady Superintendent in Cardiff was supposed to work without salary. The Mason-Fenn Memorial Home of St Peter's in Sheffield expected ladylike philanthropy. The name of its Lady Principal was not recorded. The first warden of Ashburne House in Manchester was the daughter of a judge and baronet. Miss Francis Hughes, Lady Principal of the first women's hostel in Bangor was a sister of a Wesleyan minister.
The hostel superintendents of the 1880s and 1890s often exercise vigilance concerning “mixed” outings or parties.
• “Sweet girl graduates” and the serpent: the Bangor controversy of 1892
The scandal began with comments about a student raised by aforementioned Miss Francis Hughes.
Miss F. Hughes suggested that Violet Osborn, a graduate student was “a woman of the world” and intimated to the mother of her friend that Miss Violet was not an appropriate companion for her daughter. This was brought to the college Senate. After a thorough inquiry, the unanimous verdict was that Miss “Osborn's conduct and character had been those of a refined and honourable woman.” Meanwhile, Miss Hughes was described as having acted in a 'base' and 'dishonourable' fashion” in the local and the national newspapers. The Chester Assizes judge condemned the college Principal “for having conducted an inquiry like a trial. Miss Hughes was awarded £300 compensation after the court battle.
This was a bitter lesson for the college.
• Lady wardens: trials and tribulations
Conflicts between those responsible for women students in hostels and women students were complicated. Louisa Lumsden, a newly appointed Warden in St Andrews, troubled with some of the older students. One of the perennial sources of conflicts was “the question of rules relating the entertaining of male visitors.” Some wardens declined to tolerate it. Class differences also shaped another aspect of the conflicts since some students could not afford to stay at hostels. Even students’ collective action arose. In 1902, Helen Stephen, Lady Principal of Alexandra Hall in Aberystwyth, did not go down well with the Welsh girls. Students submitted a list “of complaints about food and service in hall to Senate and the college Council, together with the assertion that the Warden was demonstrably out of sympathy with their concerns.” (p.107)
From 1900 to 1939, educated wardens exerted considerable influence over women university students.
• A sense of community: Margery Fry in Birmingham
Margery Fry was such a prominent Warden of University House, Birmingham. She was talented. She gave women students a sense of community by encouraging a variety of dramatic productions. She herself acted. She was also successful “in the practical work involved in financing, planning and supervising the building of a new hall of residence for women in Birmingham.” (p. 109) She had liberal and advanced idea and was willing “to evoke youthful high spirits.” (p.110) Because of her generosity, she was one of the most popular wardens in those days.
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Sorry, it’s getting longer although I have been trying to summarize more concisely.
Good night.
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