Nov 19

JET alum seeks help contacting Japanese Antarctica residents for research project

Academic Comments Off on JET alum seeks help contacting Japanese Antarctica residents for research project

New Zealand JET alum Jacinta McKenzie is working on a research project (see details below) and is seeking help from anyone who can help her get in touch with Japanese people who have been to Antarctica, especially to Showa Base.  Jacinta says:

Individual Project Proposal  – Group  adaptation  and  individual  adjustment  of (prolonged)  isolation of Japanese people in Antarctica

はじめまして。私はジェシンタ・マッケンジと申しまして、現在ニュージランドのカンタベリ大学で日本語と南極を専門にしている大学院生です。

私は日本人と南極との関係について非常に深い興味を持っており、カンタベリ大学で南極の研究をしています。私は現在、南極における日本人の文化人類学と社会学に関するプロジェクトを行っており、「南極の厳しい自然と孤独な生活に対する日本人の集団的、あるいは個人的順応について」というタイトルの研究論文を書いています。私のこの論文のためにあるデータが必要であり、そのデータを集めるために、南極（昭和基地）で滞在している、あるいはしたことのある日本人と連絡をして、アンケートを行いたいと思っています。

そちらの研究所所属の研究者で南極に行ったことのある（あるいは今現在滞在している）日本人の連絡先（電子メールアドレスなど）を教えていただくことはできませんか？　もしくは、私がそちらにアンケートを電子メールで送信するので私のアンケートに協力して頂けそうな人に転送していただけませんか？

アンケートの内容は、丸かバツで答えるものがいくつかと、自分の経験を短く書いて頂く簡単なもので、20分ほどで終わると思います。ご迷惑をおかけしますが、宜しくお願いいたします。

Jacinta McKenzie             jacy19@gmail.com

http://www.anta.canterbury.ac.nz/courses/gcas/

My name is Jacinta McKenzie and I am a student at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand studying Japanese Language and Antarctic Studies. I am very interested in Japans relationship between the polar regions, hence I am taking an Antarctic Studies course at Canterbury University.

I am currently do my individual project which concentrates on anthropology and sociocultural aspect of being in Antarctica, titled Group  adaptation  and  individual  adjustment  of (prolonged)  isolation of Japanese people in Antarctica.

I am seeking to get in touch with the Japanese people currently down at Showa Base or have been in the past, in order to do a survey regarding this topic.

Is there any one at the Institute of Polar Research who has been to Antarctica and would be willing to take part in my research survey? The survey will be a series of yes and no questions with a few places to write down your experience.

Any information would be much appreciated.

Kind Regards

Jacinta McKenzie             jacy19@gmail.com

http://www.anta.canterbury.ac.nz/courses/gcas/

Topic:  Group adaptation and individual adjustment of (prolonged) isolation of the Japanese winter over or summer over groups in Antarctica.

Reasoning: Until  now,  the  study  of  group  adaptation  and  individual  adjustment  of prolonged  isolation of Japanese people in Antarctica (sociocultural) has not been researched. There has been no study from a foreigner’s point of view. This would be the first research conducted in English of the cultural, dynamics of the Japanese people from an anthropological, sociocultural perspective in regards to being confined in such an environment as Antarctica.

Methodology: Using preferably first hand resources of interviews, or if not possible questionnaires/ surveys, distributing them to Japanese people who are down at Showa Base or who have been in the past, regarding their experience relating to their adaptation of being in Antarctica.  Using the concept / framework presented by Ikeno Davies in The Japanese Mind, Japanese are a people that base their existence around the idea of being accepted by people within their ‘in’ group and how they are viewed by the ‘out’ group, living in close proximity down in Showa Base, what is considered an ‘in’ group? Looking at the dynamics of a Japanese group.

Chapters:

• Group dynamics – general day to day interaction with people. Dynamics of ‘in’ and ‘out’ groups and personalities extrovert or introverted may influence interactions between people.
• Familiarities / Lack of familiarities from Japan eg food, bath tatami room, tv programms etc
• Challenges faced by individual people at the base – how they overcame these or not? Do case study)

Questionnaire themes of questions: I would have to think about them in more detail as well so not to assume ideas. Do you have any ideas for questions? – Have to research how to ask open ended questions, Yes or No questions or Likert Scale questions. Questions related to relationships between the Japanese people down in Antarctica and individual adaptation,

• How do / did you feel you related to everyone living at Showa Base? – personalities
• What were some irritating/struggles factors about living at Showa Base? And why?
• How did you overcome these struggles?
• As a Japanese person, does the group dynamic play a major role in your fitting in with the dynamic of the base?
• What are some of the comforts from home you had in Antarctica? What do you wish you had bought from Japan?
• How often would you make contact with Japan and to who? Do you feel this hindered or aided your individual adjustment/ adaption to Antarctica.

Problems with this study:

• Getting in touch with people who are living down at the Showa base or have lived down there to do questionnaire.
• Measuring of ‘in’ and ‘out’ groups is very difficult to measure in a survey without the dynamics of a group being observed.
• Also tailoring my questions to answer my research topic of = group adaption and individual adjustment of (prolonged) isolation of Japanese people in Antarctica.