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This article presents a letter from the editor, which discusses this special issue of the “Journal of Mathematical Sociology. ” The journal discusses the third Joint American-Japanese Conferences on Mathematical Sociology at the Center for the Study of Cultural and Environmental Foundations of the Mind in Hokkaido University in Japan. The papers in the article present the utility of mathematical sociology concepts, ideas, techniques, perspectives, and approaches.

In a deliberately provocative first part to this paper, I argue that nineteenth-century British mathematicians had an unduly high opinion of themselves and a striking lack of appreciation for contemporary continental developments. I argue that this failure was rooted in the institutions that supported mathematics, and was only remedied towards the end of the century. In the more sober second half of the paper I ask if historians of mathematics have subscribed to this overestimate, and explore some related questions, among them what are historians doing when they write history: telling it as it was, or righting or defending the record? Historians of mathematics also need to consider British priorities for research in the nineteenth century, and a comparison with other minor players (such as Japan, Portugal, or Poland) might be illuminating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been pointed out by Li, Hashimoto and Kanemitsu [Ito, T., 2006, On an integral representation of special values of the zeta function at odd integers. Journal of the Mathematical Society of Japan, 58, 681-691.] that the recent result of Ito [Li, H.-L., Hashimoto, M. and Kanemitsu, S., 2007, Examples of the Hurwitz transforms, in press.] is example 5.2 of Espinosa and Moll [Mikolás, M., 1957, A simple proof of the functional equation for the Riemann zeta-function and a forumula of Hurwitz. Acta Scientiarum Mathematicarum (Szeged), 18, 261-263.], whose main results in turn are contained in a more anteceding deep result of Mikolás [Nakamura, T., 2006, A functional relation for the Tornheim double zeta function. Acta Arithmetica, 125, 257-263.]. In this paper, we shall clarify the situation more completely and give some further results, from the point of view of application of the functional equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pupils' ability to represent mathematical concepts in multiple ways is a central aspect of mathematical competence and communication. Thus, classroom instructions should be able to support learners in using multiple representations (MRs) to increase the quality and quantity of connections to a network of ideas. Given the importance of bansho (board writing and organisation) in Japanese mathematics classrooms, this study aimed to investigate how MRs are presented as bansho in a mathematics classroom. Guided by a coding scheme of MRs on bansho content, the analysis revealed the ways the MRs are facilitating (or hindering) pupils' understanding. In considering the effect of the sequence and translation of MRs identified in this study, it is important to focus on these aspects of lesson design in the future. The relevant findings are also crucial to illustrate to the educators and researchers how to explore the processes involved in the use of MRs and the critical factor that contribute to the success/failure of such processes through a detailed examination of the bansho. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research indicates that mathematical understanding before formal schooling influences later attainment. This study investigated the mathematical activities of preschool-aged children in Japan, a neglected topic despite the high mathematical attainment of Japanese children. Preschool activities were investigated using surveys, observations, and staff interviews; activities at home and use of non-preschool educational providers were investigated using surveys of parents. The results showed that preschools overwhelmingly followed the government curricula, seeking to develop children's interest in and sense of number, quantity, and shape through activities embedded in play and daily life; more directed teaching using workbooks was rare. Many children frequently engaged in informal mathematics-related activities at home. An unexpectedly high proportion of children engaged with learning materials from non-preschool educational providers. Results were broadly consistent across the two locations studied, despite the contrasting attainment of children in these areas in national mathematics tests. The results demonstrate that preschools in different parts of Japan avoid directed mathematical teaching. Further research is needed into the development of the mathematical understanding of preschool-aged children in Japan, especially in relation to non-preschool educational providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article applies two recently stated choice survey datasets of Japan to investigate the difference between the Latent Class Model (LCM) and the Mixed Logit Model (MLM) for transport mode choice. A detailed comparison is carried out, focusing on comparing values of time savings, direct choice elasticities, predicted choice probabilities and prediction success indices. Furthermore, a test on nonnested model is also utilized to help determine which model is superior to another one. The results suggest that the LCM performs better than the MLM in both datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Algebra knowledge is a critical part of middle-school mathematics achievement, and success in algebra is necessary for taking higher level mathematics courses and leads to higher scores on standardized tests. The purpose of this study was to simultaneously examine relationships between mathematics beliefs, classroom instructional strategies, and algebra achievement of adolescent students in the United States and Japan using data from the TIMSS 2003 assessment. Students from both countries who earned higher test scores were more likely to indicate positive beliefs in their mathematical ability, whereas students who earned lower test scores expressed negative comparisons of themselves to other students. Considering instructional practices, students who frequently worked problems on their own tended to earn higher test scores. These results indicate that students' mathematics beliefs and classroom instructional practices were significantly related to algebra achievement for students in the United States and Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student self-beliefs are significantly related to several types of academic achievement. In addition, results from international assessments have indicated that students in Japan have typically scored above international averages (D. L. Kelly, I. V. S. Mullis, & M. O. Martin, 2000). In this study, the author examined relationships between mathematics beliefs and achievement of elementary school-aged students in the United States and Japan. The students had participated in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS; A. E. Beaton et al., 1996). The author examined several selfbeliefs and used variance estimation techniques for complex sampling designs. The author identified a number of significant relationships between self-beliefs and mathematics achievement. Students who attributed success in mathematics to controllable factors (e.g., hard work, studying at home) showed higher test scores whereas students who attributed success in mathematics at school to external factors (e.g., good luck) tended to earn lower mathematics test scores. These results extend the findings of previous research results because the author examined large national samples of students in cross-cultural settings as part of a comprehensive international assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the need for excellence and relevance in education as proposed by Japan's educational reform. The eighties was a decade of both review and reform in education, which was evidenced by the emergence of numerous educational reports. These reports not only reveal how important is excellence in education today, but also suggests the awareness of an educational crisis at times. That Japanese education has attracted attention is not without reasons. Japanese educational standards in mathematics and science are among the highest according to international comparisons. The strive for success is well reflected in the Japanese educational system. Excellence in terms of outcome does offer some possibility of improving the quality of institutions, provided that it is applied with the intention of strengthening the institution's educational and faculty development programmes.