Yasunobu Ito

Bio: Yasunobu Ito is an academic researcher from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Service (business) & Nursing. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 10 publications receiving 12 citations. Previous affiliations of Yasunobu Ito include University College London.

‘Ethnography’ in Japanese Corporate Activities: A Meta-anthropological Observation on the Relationship Between Anthropology and the Outside

Abstract: The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the consumption and usage of ethnography, the chief methodology of social/cultural anthropology, in Japanese industry. Nowadays, ethnography is not exclusive to anthropology. As an investigative method, it has been gaining popularity in industry such as engineering, design, marketing and so forth. I argue that depending on the phase and context, ethnography can be a commercialised research tool or an authoritative source for advertising. My focus will be on the ways in which ethnography, the mainstay of anthropology, is redefined and valued in the business context. Ethnography as a ‘new’ technique – not new, per se, but relatively new for business people – is regarded as a most promising technique which approaches/uncovers hidden needs and leads to new products and services which excite customers/users. At the same time, some idiosyncrasies of Japanese firm will be shed light on and will be examined with the relation to the usage of ethnography. Moreover, the implicit theme of this chapter is the anthropological inquiry of a changing discipline (i.e. anthropology) from a historical perspective, with attention to the way in which Japanese anthropology could cope with these trends in industry.

Improving the effectiveness of interprofessional work teams using EHR-based Data in the treatment of chronic diseases: An action research study

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to focus on changing the consciousness of health care workers towards cooperation in the hospital hierarchy, which is a problem for achieving effective team medical care in medical institutions. Team medical care is important in order to enhance the effectiveness of medical services, and the Japanese government has been trying to incorporate team medical care into the medical system. Through the examination of a hospital's case, we tried to clarify that, with the assistance of visualization by a medical information tool, co-medical staff have the potential to become players who can express their professional opinion to doctors on their own initiative.

Cultivating cultural awareness among medical educators by integrating cultural anthropology in faculty development: an action research study

Abstract: In faculty development, understanding each participant's cultural context is important. However, there is scarce evidence on how to improve cultural understanding in faculty development. Cultural anthropology is a discipline that focuses on developing cultural self-awareness by understanding different cultures. Professionals from this field can be crucial to the goal of cultivating cultural awareness among medical educators. The aims of this study are to 1) develop and modify cultural anthropology sessions in faculty development and 2) evaluate the effectiveness of these sessions, including their long-term impacts.The cultural anthropology sessions were organized as part of a longitudinal faculty development program-Foundation Course for Medical Education-at Kyoto University in Japan. The study included 47 medical educators participating in faculty development and three lecturers: two cultural anthropologists and a medical educator. We developed the cultural anthropology sessions and implemented them in the longitudinal faculty development program. In these sessions, cultural anthropologists used inquiry-guided reflection. An action research methodology was employed and repeated in four cycles from 2015 to 2018. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected during the action research cycles. The qualitative data were thematically analyzed.The cultural anthropologists' inquiries fostered learning during the sessions, and three themes-cultural relativism, attention to context, and reframing-were synthesized. As a long-term impact of the sessions, the learners reported becoming more aware of the cultural contexts in their daily educational and clinical activities.The cultural anthropology sessions in the faculty development program were shown to have enhanced the participants' awareness of cultural contexts. The concept and format of these sessions may be used more widely in faculty development programs.

The knowledge-creating company : how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation

Abstract: How has Japan become a major economic power, a world leader in the automotive and electronics industries? What is the secret of their success? The consensus has been that, though the Japanese are not particularly innovative, they are exceptionally skilful at imitation, at improving products that already exist. But now two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hiro Takeuchi, turn this conventional wisdom on its head: Japanese firms are successful, they contend, precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. Examining case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, 3M, GE, and the U.S. Marines, this book reveals how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge and use it to produce new processes, products, and services.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

Abstract: What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

Social Knowledge: Using Social Media to Know What You Know

Abstract: For the past two decades, executives have struggled to develop effective ways of sharing what their organizations know. Organizational leaders are now seeking ways to share knowledge with both internal and external stakeholders driven by concerns such as downsizing, the impending retirement of baby boomers, terrorism, and a host of other organizational challenges. Social Knowledge: Using Social Media to Know What You Know aims to provide relevant theoretical frameworks, latest empirical research findings, and practitioners best practices in the area. The book is multidisciplinary in nature and considers a wide range of topics, each of which is related to social knowledge. It is written for professionals who want to improve their understanding of the strategic role of social knowledge in business, government, or non-profit sectors.

What You Need to Know Before Implementing a Clinical Research Data Warehouse: Comparative Review of Integrated Data Repositories in Health Care Institutions.

Abstract: Background: Integrated data repositories (IDRs), also referred to as clinical data warehouses, are platforms used for the integration of several data sources through specialized analytical tools that facilitate data processing and analysis. IDRs offer several opportunities for clinical data reuse, and the number of institutions implementing an IDR has grown steadily in the past decade. Objective: The architectural choices of major IDRs are highly diverse and determining their differences can be overwhelming. This review aims to explore the underlying models and common features of IDRs, provide a high-level overview for those entering the field, and propose a set of guiding principles for small- to medium-sized health institutions embarking on IDR implementation. Methods: We reviewed manuscripts published in peer-reviewed scientific literature between 2008 and 2020, and selected those that specifically describe IDR architectures. Of 255 shortlisted articles, we found 34 articles describing 29 different architectures. The different IDRs were analyzed for common features and classified according to their data processing and integration solution choices. Results: Despite common trends in the selection of standard terminologies and data models, the IDRs examined showed heterogeneity in the underlying architecture design. We identified 4 common architecture models that use different approaches for data processing and integration. These different approaches were driven by a variety of features such as data sources, whether the IDR was for a single institution or a collaborative project, the intended primary data user, and purpose (research-only or including clinical or operational decision making). Conclusions: IDR implementations are diverse and complex undertakings, which benefit from being preceded by an evaluation of requirements and definition of scope in the early planning stage. Factors such as data source diversity and intended users of the IDR influence data flow and synchronization, both of which are crucial factors in IDR architecture planning.