2013 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
| Project/Area Number |
25380162
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Research Institution | Osaka City University |
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Principal Investigator |
CHARLES Weathers 大阪市立大学, 経済学研究科(研究院), 教授 (50305611)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
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| Keywords | public sector / neoliberalism / union / daycare / non-regular / education |
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| Research Abstract |
My research activities and writing on public sector labor problems under neoliberalism are proceeding. In September, I conducted a two-week research trip to the US, and I have written up part of the results. The report on Kansas politics and public sector unions, based primarily on the September interviews, will appear shortly in 経済学雑誌. In November 2013 I completed a refereed article on Hashimoto Toru's political activities; it was published in Social Science Japan Journal a few weeks ago.
I am participating in forums, especially in an Osaka public sector labor problems kenkyukai, and in NPO官製ワーキングプア研究会。In July, I participated in forming a Kansai branch for the NPO, and I am one of the officers.
In March, I conducted 3 brief research trips. One was to Tokyo, to attend union hearings especially regarding shunto; this information will contribute to a report on Abenomics and changing employment practices. A second was to Fukuoka to interview activists who have contested employment time limits (雇用年限）; I will include this in a report on hijokin public sector workers in Japan. The third was to Oregon to interview officials and members in AFSCME (public sector workers union) about organizing daycare workers and improving childcare standards. I am writing up the report on Oregon now and plan to publish it in the next available issue of 経済学雑誌.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
I am making progress in getting reports and articles written. The article on Hashimoto's neoliberal agenda took a lot of time since it was targeted at a refereed journal, but with it finished I have been able to focus on the other areas of the project. In addition, I was able to conduct three short field trips in March, and that data will help in completing other projects that were underway. One problem in the research design is that the scope of the projects is rather wide, so I sometimes have trouble keeping track of all the information, especially regarding legal or technical matters. This is especially important in research on Japan's public sector workers, since the rules are complex. Since I do not need to travel extensively in Japan during the coming year, I hope to speed up data analysis and writing.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
I am continuing with my present research activities in Japan as usual. This largely involves participating in the Osaka public sector labor problems kenkyukai and NPO Kansei Working Poor Kenkyukai. I do not plan to travel much in Japan this fiscal year besides Tokyo. Any interviews I conduct this year will likely be in Kansai, since the public sector activists have been very active recently. The establishment of the new NPO branch will make it easier to contact people.
I am beginning to make plans for my next trip to the US. My contacts have made several suggestions, and my next trip will likely be to New York to talk to daycare organizers, political activists, and possibly teachers. I also plan to do a follow-up trip to Kansas to research election-time political activities and organizing drives of the unions.
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