2018 ISSSM
International Symposium on Social Sciences and Management
January 19-21, 2017Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
International Symposium on Social Sciences and Management (ISSSM) is an international platform for scholars, researchers and practitioners to discuss interdisciplinary research and practices in the fields of communication, culture, economics, education, finance, law, management, politics, psychology, society and more.
2017 ISSSM was taken place from January 19-21, 2017 in Hokkaido, Japan. Prospective authors are invited to submit original research abstracts or full papers which were not, are not and have not been submitted/published/under consideration in other conferences and journals.
Keynote Speech
Professor Sally dhruva’ Stephenson
Department of Educational Professions, Frostburg State University
Frostburg, Maryland, USA
Topic: Cultural Explorations through Virtual Simulations
Local Host
Kurt Ackermann
Associate Professor,
English Department,
Hokusei Gakuen University's Junior College, Sapporo, Japan
Welcome Message from Prof. Kurt Ackermann
Dear Conference Delegates,
As Hokkaido's first people the Ainu would say, “Irankarapte!”
Please accept a warm welcome to cool Hokkaido from me, Kurt Ackermann, and Higher Education Forum (HEF), the organizers of the 2017 Sapporo conferences.
As the transportation and financial hub of Hokkaido, Sapporo attracts a wide variety of visitors, coming for tourism or business. It has a well-established transportation infrastructure adapted to its unique winter situation, as well as a history of hosting large winter sports events, in particular the 1972 Winter Olympics. In fact, Sapporo will host the 8th Asian Winter Games soon after these conferences, from the 19th to the 26th of February 2017. This event is a prelude to the 23rd Olympic Winter Games, to be held in February 2018 in Pyeongchang in neighbouring South Korea.
Sapporo's winters, while often feeling cold to those from warmer climes, are actually quite mild by the standards of many cities that receive large amounts of snow.
The combination of plentiful snow, modern infrastructure, and (relatively!) mild temperatures makes the city and its environs a true winter playground. For visitors wishing to try their hand at some of these, there are free or reasonably-priced opportunities to try cross-country skiing (Nakajima Park), snowshoeing (Sapporo Art Park) and ice-skating. More ambitious visitors may even wish to try downhill skiing or snowboarding. In Sapporo, the possibilities for winter sports are almost limitless.
Although the image of northern winters is blustery and cold snowy days, there are actually many days when the crisp cold air is crowned with a brilliant clear blue sky and if you are at the observation deck of Sapporo's Mt. Moiwa you may experience beautiful vistas of the snow-blanketed city and its suburbs, with snow-covered mountains just to the south and also further to the north beyond the steel blue waters of Ishikari Bay. Just don't forget your gloves and hat!
As Hokkaido is famous throughout Japan for the quality of its seafood and wide variety of food in general, you can restore the energy you use on a chilly winter day with a hearty Hokkaido meal.
The core of Sapporo's transportation system is the subway, developed to coincide with its hosting of the 1972 Winter Olympics and which facilitates the movement of people during the snowy winters. Nevertheless, the recently extended streetcar line also continues to be an important component of the city's transit network. If you are lucky you may see the 'sasara densha' - a specially modified streetcar that sweeps the tram rails of new snow with its rotating bamboo brushes, starting at 4 a.m. every winter morning and then whenever it starts to snow.
Sapporo is a city developed with the input of people from all across Japan, who gathered in Hokkaido for various reasons. One of the things I like so much about Higher Education Forum organized conferences is the diversity, both of the fields represented in the presentations and of the participants themselves. It can be very refreshing to attend a presentation from another field to allow us to reconsider our perspectives and have the opportunity to be exposed to different ideas and ways of thinking. I strongly recommend all participants to attend at least one seemingly unrelated presentation, you might be surprised at what you learn and the new contacts that you make.
Enjoy this opportunity to both share your research and experience Hokkaido.
