Help the earth by changing people’ mind about fashion.

Ryoko Suzuki

I like watching YouTube and listening to K-pop in my free time.　I love cafe-hopping and often do it with my friends.　I have a father in my family.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

My public life? (Society, government)

I live alone in my grandma's house.　I don’t do a part time job and use so much SNS.　So, I‘m joining only 2 communities,the family and university.

My professional life? (School)

I’m a second-year university student. l belong to the faculty of internal relations. I’m interested in multinational companies and English communication.

What Do I Learn? Do? Make? (Knowledge, experiences, skills)

I was born in Thailand and I lived there for 13 years. I could speak Thai fluently.

I joined the tea ceremony club when I was in high school. I could make matcha.

I often watch makeup tips on YouTube. I know many things about cosmetics.

My connections and communities? (Face to face / online / local-global)

Always face to face. Sometimes I use Line.

My Personality? How Do I Feel?  (Happy? Curious? Free? Active? Participating?)

I’m so happy. I‘m looking forward to making new friends.

2. Who do I want to be in the future?

My personal life? (Hobbies, friends, family)

Doing Yoga. Exercising.

Have many friends who came from abroad.

Have children and a Chiba dog in my family.

My public life?  (Neighborhood, society, government)

Have more society.

Live with someone.

My professional life? (School, work)

Studying everything I want to.

Doing club activities.

Have a passion for working.

What Do I Learn? Do? Make? (Knowledge, experiences, skills)

Could speak 4 languages.

Have a teacher ‘license.

My connections and communities?  (face to face / online / local-global)

Face to face and global.

My Personality? How Do I Feel?  (Happy? Curious? Free? Active? Participating?)

Happy and Free.

Why do I want this future?

I want to lead a full life. I’d like to try doing lots of different kinds of work and activities.

3. More about me

What are my strengths?

I have a spirit of challenging difficult tasks.

I’m brimming with curiosity.

I’m able to adapt and respond quickly to changing work situations and environments.

What do I want to improve?

I can't make a constant effort. I’m improving now.

What local and global problems am I aware of?

Local problems

What do I want to know? 

  Why does the number of young people who go to work outside Shizuoka increase every year?

What problems or situations or opportunities do I know about?

 Shizuoka Linear Railway problems , The aging problems in shizuoka.

What do I care about?

 How to make Shizuoka become a vibrant prefecture.

Global problems

What do I want to know? 

Why Japan and Korea didn’t  cooperate to help people from Covid-19.

What problems or situations or opportunities do I know about?

 The hostility between certain countries has significant negative implications for other nations.

What do I care about?

How to make a better relationship between Thai and Japan

What Sustainable Development Goals have I learned about?

1.Goals

③Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

(④Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls)

Information

・Japanese people sleep on average 7 hours and 22 minutes a day, the shortest time among the 33 countries, according to a 2021 survey conducted by the OECD.

・Japanese women sleep 13 minutes less than their man counterparts on average, a gender trend seen in only six countries, the survey showed.

・Women in their 50s sleep the least on weekdays among all age groups in Japan, with an average of 6 hours and 36 minutes, according to a 2020 national survey on lifestyles conducted by the Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) Culture Research Institute.

URL https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14861166

Source THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

2.Goal　

③Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

(④Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls)

Information

・Sleeping less than 6 hours increases risk of death.

・Less than six hours of sleep is a significant risk factor for the development of diabetes, 　　

　hypertension, and stroke

・Longer sleep also increases the risk of death, stroke, 　and cardiovascular disease

・Optimal sleep time is 6-8 hours

・Insomnia and depression appear to be highly related   (Insomnia＝不眠症)

・The percentage of insomnia in depression is as high 

　as 84.7

・Many people become depressed after insomnia.

・Also, even after overcoming depression, insomnia may 　remain as an after-effect of depression

URL https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/numa/79/6/79_333/_pdf/-char/ja 

Sources J-STAGE

3.Goal

③Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

(④Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls)

Information

・Women are 40% more likely to have insomnia than men. Women are also nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety and depression , two conditions strongly associated with insomnia
・While research shows that "women need more sleep than men, it is also the case that women tend to sleep slightly longer than men — by just over 11 minutes"
・Women are more likely than men to wake up to take care of others in the home, a task which disrupts their sleep. Sleep disruptions can reduce overall sleep quality.

URL  https://www.sleepfoundation.org/women-sleep/do-women-need-more-sleep-than-men

Sources SLEEP FOUNDATION

What did I do and learn in my fieldwork?

• What was my research question? 

・ What do I know? 

・People care about the price ,but don’t care about the environmental effect when buying clothes.→use reasonable fast fashion

・How did I become interested in this?

・ I am interested in fashion. And I want to know more about the relationship between fashion and the environment.・  What should I know about? 

・What do people (university students) think when they buy clothes?

・  Question: ____What do people (university students) think when they buy clothes? Do you reuse your clothes?_________  

・ Hypothesis: ____When they buy clothes, they only think about the price. Using fast fashion like Shein._____________

• Why is this important to me?

　　　　It is important to me because I'm living on the earth. Global warming will destroy the earth and environment. 

One of the reasons that causes global warming is CO2 which comes from the factory. And, one of the factories is the sewing factory. 

Everyone wears clothes, it means all of us are promoting global warming. It makes me think about what I should do to help the earth by changing people’ mind about fashion.

• What did I do?

・ Things. (e.g., observe and note, photos, audio, video, collect and tally etc.) 

・  Observe, interview, photo SNS

・Locations. (Home, street, train, shops, school, job, city, books, documents, nature, media, internet, SNS, etc.)

・University (Kendai, Tokoha, Shizuoka University)

• What data did I collect?

・ Data:

・Kendai students and others

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScn897tSbh_K1Yqz1vxWze288TC1IORucjzDy23CgckX-7AgA/viewform?usp=sharing

  ・Tokoha with Aoi

https://photos.app.goo.gl/phVcdTYGHoHcLcX29!

  ・Tokoha photo

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sndy3wVDvZu7Nrno7

  ・ALL

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rdbaVfuVnnHcyJxJ8

• What trends did I find in the data?

Almost all students wear fast fashion and care about the price the most. Buying the clothes at the store.

(even online shopping is very popular now,) Most students feel good about second hand clothing but don’t intend to wear them.

 Question: ____What do people(university students) think when they buy clothes? Do you reuse your clothes?__

　　　　　　→ Price,Design,How to mix and match (Price and Outlooking→why is fast fashion popular,environment×　Long use×)_______  

Hypothesis: ____When they buy clothes ,they only think about the price. Using a lot of fast fashion like shein.__

　　　　　　→Yes but most students don’t use shein. They still go to the shop to choose the clothes.

・Do an evaluation of my process and data. (what problems did you realize from your data/analysis? What could/should you do better next time?)

・ Make a simpler  GoogleForm  at first

・ Practice more before going

・  Thinking more about what I really want to know.

・ Make more interesting interview

・How does my fieldwork connect to my future?

                          When considering the target audience for selling clothing, conducting fieldwork and interviewing potential customers 

can be a valuable strategy to gain insights into their thought processes and preferences. 

By doing so, I can better understand their needs and tailor your marketing and product offerings accordingly.

    Who is doing related work locally and globally? What are they doing?

• Local Person/Organization

University of Shizuoka’s Health Support Center. 

Their ideas and actions

　 The University of Shizuoka’'s Health Support Center is different from other universities because it has four departments: Health Promotion Room, Consultation Room, Medical Room, and Disabled Students Support Room. This time, I focused on the Health Promotion Room and the Medical Room and interviewed the nurses working there.

The Health Promotion Room is a relaxing space where students can easily access and find inspiration for both physical and mental well-being. When students visit for the first time, they might hesitate outside the room, so the nurses actively encourage them to enter and take that first step. Once they overcome their hesitation, students tend to use the room more often and become interested in their health. If they need to talk to someone when emotions arise, they can use the Health Promotion Room. However, for deeper concerns, they need to make reservations and visit the Consultation Room.

On the other hand, some students who initially came for counseling start using the available weight scales and blood pressure monitors. Conversely, some start with these devices and later seek counseling. The Health Promotion Room offers various ways for students to improve their physical and mental health. Personally, when I expressed an interest in yoga, they even ordered a new yoga mat for me, which made me very happy!

 Next, let me explain about the Medical Room. If the Health Promotion Room is for general health consultations (when students are not physically ill), the Medical Room is where they go when they have specific physical discomforts. It allows for more detailed discussions about physical issues compared to the Health Promotion Room. For instance, students can talk about specific illnesses or even matters related to sexual health. The Medical Room plays a role similar to a school's health office or infirmary. However, it is not a clinic, so they cannot prescribe medications. Nonetheless, they can provide referrals to treatment facilities or offer advice.(I often sought help with more serious physical concerns, thank you very much!)

University of Shizuoka 's Health Support Center provides valuable support for students' health and well-being. Through the interviews, I learned how much the university values the health of its students. I hope they will continue to make progress in promoting student health!

Connections to you and your interests

 I often use the health promotion room, and it feels like my second home. It's a place where I can do various activities, from seeking advice to exercising with a balance ball and electric bicycle. I've been going there at least twice a week since last year and have become close with the dedicated nurses and fellow students who also frequent the room. It feels like a family.

During one of my health consultations there, I learned that many other students also face similar concerns. This sparked my interest in promoting health among university students. So, I researched what the University of Shizuoka Health Center is doing for students' health from a local perspective.

Contacting them, their reply

The Health Support Center consists of a Health Promotion Room and a Medical Room, so I interviewed three nurses directly. The center also has a Counseling Room and a Disabled Student Support Room, but I decided not to interview users there because I was afraid of intruding into their privacy.

Sources

Health Support Center staff(nurses)

静岡県立大学健康支援センター (u-shizuoka-ken.ac.jp)

Directly interview

• Global Person/Organization

Mae Fah Luang University wellness and medical center

Their ideas and actions

The questions regarding the well-being of students at Mae Fah Luang University

(This is the original question sheet and the answer )

1. Are there any facilities available to support student health? If so, how were they established? (I found that Mae Fah Luang University has Mae Fah Luang Hospital, but I would like to know if there are any facilities specifically for student health.)

          Ans: Mae Fah Luang University wellness and medical center is the only facility that support student both physical and mental health issues.

2. Apart from the school infirmary (medical room), are there any counseling rooms or health promotion facilities available? If yes, how many students approximately make use of each facility?

Ans: Mae Fah Luang University wellness and medical center is the only facility that support student’s health. Whenever student needs medical support from the university, the student can call and transfer to the hospital 24 hours. The hospital’s capacity is 400 beds for IPD and has planned to become 800 beds in the near future.

3. Are there any facilities where students can engage in physical activities? If so, what kind of exercise equipment is available? Additionally, approximately how many students utilize these facilities?

          Ans: In campus area near student’s dormitory, the MFU provides a large sport complex including:

-        1 indoor stadium with 2,500 seats

-        1 indoor Gymnasium with 3 badminton courts, 5 table tennis areas, 3 large multi-purposes exercising rooms.

-        1 large outdoor football (soccer) and athletics stadium with 3,000 seats

-        1 Olympic size (50meters) swimming pool with 1,500 seats

-        2 tennis courts

-        1 indoor fitness center

-        5 Outdoor basketball courts

-        Very large recreation area: parks, jogging, and pedestrian walk way

4. Does the university disseminate information related to health support for students? (For example, posting newsletters on electronic bulletin boards regarding health-related matters.)

          Ans: MFU uses many of media’s channels for reaching to students include the university website, Facebooks, Instagram, Registrar systems’ bulletin boards, and billboards at every building. Especially, the Registrar systems’ bulletin boards and Facebooks post are the most effective channels for the university to communication all kinds of information to student.

5. Does the university provide opportunities to motivate students to improve their health, or do they expect students to manage their health without external incentives due to being college students?

          Ans: Both ways, MFU try to encourage student to live and learn while they are in their study’s years. In any given year of study university provides physical and mental health guideline according to the university academic’s calendar e.g., at the beginning of each semester and during examination periods.

          However, in some critical circumstance such as disease outbreak, university is also give student some interventions and guidelines to help the student as well.

6. Are there designated areas where students can take breaks, such as restrooms or benches in parks? If yes, approximately how many students utilize these areas?

Ans: MFU is the university in the park, or you could say the university in the forest instead. University has provided most of the area as the recreation and rest area for the student. Besides of very large area of park, MFU also provides many working spaces and shops for student includes coffee shops (café), convenience store (7-11), U-Store (Apple store), and innovation and co-working space which could accommodate at least 1,000 students.

7. Are there machines available for students to measure their height, weight, blood pressure, or similar metrics? Are students allowed to use them freely?

          Ans: Yes, MFU provides height, weight and blood pressure measuring machines, which available at the sport center and the university’s hospital. However, only weight and height machines are allowed to be used freely, other need student to request for using.

8. Are there places where students can seek support for mental issues, such as counseling services with qualified psychologists? If yes, approximately how many students utilize these services?

          Ans: Yes, MFU provides the mental health support for student. The facilities are both in the campus and at the university hospital. I could not find the report of exact number student utilized in those facilities, but the number was around 10-15 students a year (for severe case).

9. Are there any areas of student health support that the university currently wishes to improve?

Ans: Yes, the university needed to improve the mental health support capability for the student. Since the prevalent of mental health issue from mild to moderate is seemed to increase over the year and mental health support personnel is not enough. The university with school of health science and Chiang rai provincial mental health department have initiate the trained student watching and counselling group to be the first person to talk and give some advice to student before being transferred to the university’s personnel.

10. Are there any future initiatives the university plans to undertake to support student health? (For example, facility improvements or introducing new exercise equipment.)

          Ans: Yes, MFU has plans to improve student’s support facilities. For mental health, I had already mentioned in Q9. For other facilities like sport center has their own recurrent plan every for maintenance and/or buy new equipment. For other recreations facilities and areas, university has plans to improve and adjust those areas to be suitable for student in each period throughout the year.

11. Are there any unique initiatives at Mae Fah Luang University that you believe are solely dedicated to supporting student health?

          Ans: so far, beside mental health support initiative programme, I do have information on other programme that university are about to create in order to support student’s health.

Connections to you and your interests

I thought it was important to learn not only from Japanese examples but also from other countries to improve health at universities. Therefore, I reached out to the university in Thailand, where I lived the longest. Since childhood, I had always been interested in studying at a university in Thailand, but it didn't happen as I had planned, so I never got to know the universities there. This interview won't give me a complete picture of the entire university, but it provided a good opportunity to learn about a part of it.

Contacting them, their reply

I’m interested in the health management of university students in Thailand, so I contacted a professor at a university in Thailand through email. (I was introduced by a Thai professor at the University of Shizuoka.) I wanted to conduct the interview via Zoom or phone, but the professor was likely busy, and there is a time difference between Japan and Thailand. Therefore, I prepared a questionnaire and received their answers through email.

Sources

Dr. Saharat Arreeras, School of Health Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, Thailand

Mae Fah Luang Medical Center - Architects 110

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Reflection

• What I learned this semester: I learned more how to give an opinion and express myself through talking with Prof. and my classmates. 

               I also learned how to give good feedback to make the project better etc.  I realized I have more power to do anything in the world than I think. 

• What I did well: I took action to connect with many people. I went to Tokoha University to interview students who  I had never talked to before. I also mailed to University in Thailand(Mae Fah Luang University) and have a good connection with a professor who I had never seen, too.  I could attempt many things in this class. Going through many valuable experiences has made me grow.

• What I could have done better:  I should have given more thought to preparing for the interviews and estimating the required time. Additionally, I should have made the objectives for all the fieldwork clearer. Due to the lack of clear objectives, I felt uncertain about what to do. Next time, I would like to allocate more time to make preparations before taking action.

• The connection to my future: I will become a wonderful person with the ability to take action and enrich my life and the lives of people around me

• Advice for other students: This class is different from others because you can focus on yourself. There are many opportunities to express your opinions and talk about yourself. However, thinking a lot about yourself can make you feel lost. You might wonder what you want to know or do. It's normal to feel anxious, but this is a crucial time. We often unconsciously pay attention to what others think and follow the path that society says is good. Getting lost happens when we don't pay enough attention to ourselves and what we really want. Cherish this time of uncertainty and enjoy the class with Prof.deHaan.