Journal of Human Ergology

Industry-specific primary prevention measures for promoting mental health of workers were undertaken in 2008 and 2009 as a result of participatory training involving 130 supervisory employees in workplaces of the financial industry. These measures included the following five points suggested to be effective in the industry: 1) proper opportunities for training and career building, 2) control of work time and improving work organization, 3) standardization of tasks, 4) job rotation for sharing work responsibilities, and 5) increasing communication and mutual support...

In the present study, a regression analysis of BMI and body fat percentage in each school year was performed with cross-sectional data in school-aged children. The qualitative changes in physique during the school-age years were examined by showing the changes in the level of body fat accu- mulation with age. The subjects were 789 boys and girls (469 boys, 320 girls) aged 7 to 14 years who participated in regular sports activities. Height, weight and body fat percentage were measured. Fat free mass was calculated by subtracting fat mass from body weight...

The purpose of this research was to study the usefulness of daily living performance scores (DLPS) in order to indicate the capabilities of inpatients at psychiatric hospitals in performing activities of daily living (ADL). A cross-sectional study was conducted on 44 subjects who were inpatients at psychiatric hospitals in Japan and who responded to a questionnaire about daily living performance. A follow-up survey was conducted 9 months later on 43 patients. These patients were targeted for a study on the relationship between items relating to adverse ambulatory events and DLPS...

In this study the effect of elbow flexion with forward flexion of the upper arm and shoulder rotation on the maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) of grip strength was investigated. Two directions (vertical and horizontal), three positions (left side, central and right) and five elbow flexion angles were taken as independent variables. The analysis of variances (ANOVA) was performed on the data collected. The results of the analysis showed that there was highly significant effect of the direction, front position of the wrist (the line in front of the right shoulder, centre of the chest and left shoulder using the right hand in the sagittal plane), and the elbow flexion angle on MVC grip strength...

The main aim of the study was to determine the nature and extent of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and physiological and thermal working stress among the groundnut farmers. In the present investigation, eighty-five groundnut farmers were recruited from the villages of Tarakeswar of West Bengal, India. Eighty-five control office workers were also selected as a control group. The modified Nordic questionnaire and a posture analysis using the OWAS method were applied in the case of groundnut farmers. The working environment and physiological stress of the groundnut cultivators were also assessed...

The purpose of this research is to examine the ways bicycles swerve off sidewalks onto roads under various conditions. Seven students, five males and two females participated in an experiment on a road with a 100-cm wide sidewalk. Footage of each participant on a bicycle evading obstacles such as a utility pole and pedestrian were taken with a video camera, while a front-wheel view of the path taken by the bicycle was recorded simultaneously with a digital camera. Twelve experimental conditions were used for each participant, consisting of all the combinations of (1) three obstacle types, (2) the side (left or right) to which the bicycle went to avoid the obstacle, and (3) two weather conditions...

Chakdos in Western Indian state of Gujarat are makeshift vehicles for public transport. Such a vehicle was selected for ergonomic analysis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the design of the existing vehicle from an ergonomic viewpoint and to redesign it from an ergonomic perspective. Twelve different trips were made for the entire stretch of a journey of 12 kilometers on different vehicles. In general, the access to the vehicle was a severe problem for females, children and elderly people. The median and interquartile ranges for design and related issues and postural discomfort scores were calculated for the male and female passengers separately...

The aim of this study is to recommend revisions, based on empirical data, to the current curb ramp standards for keeping bicyclists safe. Four types of curb ramps were tested: (1) concrete with a 50 mm edge height, (2) concrete reinforced by a metal plate with a 50 mm edge height, (3) plastic with a 20 mm edge height, and (4) recycled rubber with a 10 mm edge height. Twenty subjects aged 20-60 years ascended the curbs on a bicycle under various conditions. The angles of approach were 15 degrees, 30 degrees, 45 degrees, 60 degrees, 75 degrees and 90 degrees...

We investigated the effects of raised ambient temperature on cardiorespiratory performance in a 3- min step test. Subjects repeatedly performed the step exercise under three ambient thermal conditions. A cardiorespiratory fitness index was computed from heart rate (HR) measurements during a recovery period after the exercise. Raised ambient temperature was associated with significantly increased HR not only during the rest period before exercise but also during the recovery period. The cardiorespiratory fitness index for the high temperature condition was significantly poorer than those for the moderate conditions...

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of upper limb postures on discomfort by repetitive gripping tasks. In the present experiment, the three levels of the upperarm abduction angle (0 degrees, 45 degrees, and 90 degrees) with three levels of the elbow flexion angle (45 degrees, 90 degrees, and 135 degrees) were taken as independent variables to find the effect on discomfort by repetitive gripping (150N+5N) at 15 exertions per minute. Eighteen (participants) x three (upper arm abduction angles) x three (elbow flexion angles) custom design of the experiment was used for the analysis of variances (ANOVA)...

This research was conducted to assess the positive effect of the ergonomics work station on the health impairment and electrical energy usage at the woodworking workshop in Bali, Indonesia. Woodworking workshops are dangerous, particularly when they are used improperly. Workers are exposed to health hazards that cause health impairment and inefficiencies in their work conditions. A preliminary study at a woodworking workshop at the Bali State Polytechnic showed that the work station was not suitable to body size of the participants and caused awkward postures...

The figpurpose of this study was to investigate the evaluation of differences in morphological qualities in physical strength of South Korean junior high school boys. The subjects were 201 first-year junior high school boys (13.6 +/- 0.3 years, 59.0 +/- 12.8 kg, 163.1 +/- 7.4 cm, in whom height, weight, BMI, fat mass, body fat percentage and soft lean mass were measured. Items of physical strength measured were the sit and reach, 20-m shuttle run, push-ups, and sit-ups. Morphological quality was judged from two aspects, a BMI evaluation of obesity or leanness and an evaluation of the level of fat accumulation derived from regression polynomials of body fat percentage against BMI...

Using physiological and psychological measurements, we carried out experiments to investigate the influence of viewing distance and TV screen size on visual fatigue and feeling of involvement using 17-inch, 42-inch and 65-inch displays. The experiment was an ordinary viewing test with the content similar to everyday TV programs for one hour including scenery, sport, drama, etc., with commercials sandwiched in between. The number of participants was 16 (8 persons aged 21-31, and 8 persons aged 50-70) for each display size...

The two final decades of the 20th century saw a significant increase in ergonomics activity (and resulting publications) in industrially developing countries (IDCs). However, a few ergonomics papers from Singapore, for example, were published in 1969 and 1970. This paper reviews developments in ergonomics in industrially developing countries from 1969 relying heavily on published papers although their quality varies considerably. Some criticism of these papers is offered. Most were concerned with the use of work tools, workstation operations, material handling and working environments especially in tropical climates...

Kaizen (work improvement) is the forte of Japanese industry. Kaizen activities were born in the early 20th century under the name efficiency research. These activities were the beginning of industrial engineering (IE). Later on people began to rethink the single-minded devotion to improving productivity. Then the job re-design concept was developed. The main target of kaizen in the area of occupational health and safety in Japanese manufacturing is the improvement of inadequate working posture followed by the improvement of work for transporting and lifting heavy objects...

Workshops were conducted as part of community planning projects by developing a workshop program to reduce the working time taken by preparations for town watching and map making, and to concentrate on community planning discussions. The workshop program allowed participants to introduce town watching and map making by using a geographic information system (GIS). We showed that a group using a GIS would take less time for map making. As a result, more time would be available for community planning discussion...

Specific examinations of university students in Japan revealed numerous people affected by hay fever among the younger population, various measures for hay fever prevention and dissatisfaction with commercially available hay fever masks. Questionnaire replies from 1519 students demonstrated the following results: (1) those with hay fever accounted for 36.5% of males and 44.0% of females; (2) masks and chemicals were mainly used hay fever treatments; (3) 38.4% males and 41.0% females wore masks to prevent problems from hay fever; (4) almost all of the users reported problems with commercially available hay fever masks; (5) male mask users reported 'humidity' and 'occurrence of mist over glasses', whereas female users reported 'ruining make-up', 'humidity', and 'breathing difficulties' as problems...

Although role conflict management is necessary for the prevention of dropout from participation in sports, little has been known about it, especially regarding Japanese university student-athletes. Hence, this study examined the aspects of merit and demerit involved in their performances of academic, athletic, part-time job, family and human relationship roles. The merits and demerits were evaluated using the theoretical concepts of negative spillover (NSP), positive spillover (PSP), compensation and segmentation...

Previous research has examined aging effects on response inhibition using cognitive interference paradigms such as the Stroop task and the Simon task. Performance in these tasks requires participants to inhibit predominant responses. Reduced response inhibition is reflected by poorer performance in incongruent trials where prepotent responses can interfere with other correct responses, than in congruent trials without such interference (i.e., Stroop or Simon congruency effects). It is unclear whether such effects increase with normal aging...

The purpose of this study is to develop a driver's optimum arousal level preservation system while driving. The important point of developing this system is how we keep a driver's adequate conditions on driving. Most of the systems, which have been already put to practical use, are using audible sound or warning messages on a display to urge driver to take a rest. However, arousal levels are strongly related to the balance of autonomic modulations; therefore we need the stimulation that preserves a driver's adequate condition physiologically...