Issues : JET is a peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal : Journal of Ergonomic Technology (JET)

Journal of Ergonomic Technology (JET)
ISSN 2432-1575

Issues

Evaluating Cardiac Autonomic Nervous System Activity during a Tea Ceremony through Tone-Entropy Analysis
Publish Date : 2023/05/26  Vol.23
Authors : 
Mikami Marina, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology
*Kida Noriyuki, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Kyoto Institute of Technology
Report Outline : 
Purpose: This study evaluated autonomic nervous system activity related to tea ceremony scenes that affect mental calm. We used a heart rate monitor to measure changes in the heart rate of guests at a tea ceremony and calculated the mean heart rate values for different scenes of a tea ceremony.
Method: The participants were healthy adult men and women (N = 25). In this experiment, a tea ceremony expert hosted a simulated tea ceremony in a tearoom following the basic tea ceremony manners. The participants wore a heart rate monitor that measured the R-R interval before they entered the tearoom until after they left the room. We calculated the heart rate’s tone and entropy values from three-minute data segments during six events: just after entering the tearoom, before eating Wagashi, after eating Wagashi, before drinking tea, after drinking tea, and before leaving the tearoom.
Results: A two-way ANOVA showed a significant main effect of the events on tone and entropy. Results of multiple comparisons indicated that the entropy value at the end of the event was significantly lower than that when sitting and before eating Wagashi. Moreover, the entropy value before drinking tea was significantly lower than before eating sweets.
Conclusion: These results indicated that entering a tearoom and participating in a tea ceremony did cause psychological relaxation, but rather it increased tension. These results suggest that the mental calm after attending tea ceremonies might be due to the release of tension.
Keywords: Tone-Entropy analysis, autonomic nervous system activity, sympathetic nerves, parasympathetic nerves, traditional culture
Count : 290
Comparison of resilience level among occupations and the relationship between resilience and relaxation in our recovery rehabilitation ward: a pilot study
Publish Date : 2022/08/10  Vol.22
Authors : 
*Taichi Hitomi, OTR, Tokorozawa Rehabilitation Hospital, Dept. Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Science, Kyorin University
Kensuke Ikeda, OTR, Tokorozawa Rehabilitation Hospital
Hiroya Fujiwara, RPT, Irumagawa Hospital
Rie Hitomi, RPT, Tokorozawa Rehabilitation Hospital, Rolf Release
Report Outline : 
Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare resilience among the occupations involved in a recovery rehabilitation ward of a hospital and to clarify the relationship between resilience and relaxation.
Subjects and Methods: A total of 133 subjects (56 in the rehabilitation department, 43 in the nursing department, and 34 in the care worker department) of physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language-hearing therapists were surveyed using the Adolescent Resilience Scale (ARS) and a short-form self-report measure to assess relaxation effects (S-MARE).
Results: It was found that resilience was lower in the nursing department than in the rehabilitation and care worker department. Resilience was also found to be related to relaxation.
Conclusions: Many previous studies have reported the issue of stress in nursing. The low resilience in nursing departments may be a result of high stress among nurses, and a harsh working environment. Therefore it is necessary to consider ways to reduce stress among nurses. On the other hand, the results of this study showed a relationship between resilience and relaxation. This result is considered to be useful data to verify the effects of relaxation in enhancing resilience in a nursing department of a hospital.
Count : 436
Effects of remote counseling using an embodied agent
Publish Date : 2022/01/17  Vol.22
Authors : 
Iwasaki Kazuko, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology
*Kida Noriyuki, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Kyoto Institute of Technology
Report Outline : 
Abstract
Objectives: We developed a remote counseling environment showing the counselors' facial
expressions in real-time shown to clients as an embodied agent and quantitatively evaluated the length
of utterances and pauses.
Methods: We provided mock counseling using the "dog and rose role-playing technique" to ten
healthy adults as clients and one clinical psychologist as a counselor, in the following counselor's facial
expression conditions presented on a display placed in front of the clients. The conditions were voice,
agent, and real facial expressions, each condition presented for ten minutes.
Results: Pause length during a turn in the agent condition was significantly longer than in the voice
condition. Moreover, in-turn pause length (the length of pausing time after clients start uttering) in the
agent condition was significantly longer than in the voice or real facial expression conditions.
Conclusion: Clients might be able to stay silent easily and have a dialogue with themselves in the
agent condition because they have less interpersonal tension, look at the counselor's nods or facial
expressions as an image, and not feel that they must immediately respond to the counselor.
Keywords: Avatar, utterance time, counselor, client
Count : 415
Effects of original background music(BGM)on the mastication and swallow movements of elementary school lunch period
Publish Date : 2021/09/18  Vol.21
Authors : 
* Naomi Sakuma, Yokohama Municipal Sueyoshi Elementary School, Graduate School of Engineering Kanagawa Institute of Technology
Masaki Korokawa, Department of Information Media, Sound Content Media Laboratory, Kanagawa Institute of technology
Hidenobu Takao, Graduate School of Engineering Kanagawa Institute of Technology
Ryosuke Katayama, Graduate School of Engineering Kanagawa Institute of Technology
Naomi Aiba, Department of Nutrition and Life Science, Kanagawa Institute of Technology
Report Outline : 
Purpose: According to the 2015 Infant Nutrition Survey (Ministry of Health, Labour & Welfare, 2015), approximately 30% of Japanese children are unable to masticate effectively, and education to promote effective mastication movement in children with large individual differences in mastication ability is desired. The purpose of this study was to confirm whether mastication and swallowing education(MSE) using the original BGM for 10 minutes during a school lunch period consisting of a 20-minute meal time promotes masticatory and swallowing movements.
Method: The subjects were 100 children in three classes of first grade of elementary school (Kanagawa, Japan), and each class was divided into three groups: Group A) a control group with no BGM and no MSE, Group B) with BGM and no MSE, and C) with BGM and MSE, comprising of training for 3 weeks. The tempo of the original BGM was set to 120 beats per minute (BPM) based on the number of masticatory movements per minute (mastication speed); in this case, the average number was 58 times per minute. This average mastication speed was obtained from the quantitative data collected via video recording of the masticatory movement of the children who had participated in a previous study. The three groups were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test along with the application of the Bonferroni correction to counteract the problem of multiple comparisons. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for overall and quartile group comparisons.
Results: Between Groups A, B, and C post-intervention data, there was a significant increase in masticatory speed in a Group C (p<0.05). A significant increase in masticatory speed was observed in a Group C considering the pre-and-post-intervention same group data the intervention (p <0.05). In the pre-and post-quartile comparisons of each of the three groups, a significant increase in masticatory speed was observed only in a Group C, first group (low masticatory speed group) (p<0.05).
Conclusion: MSE with original background music created based on the human factor experiment conducted by Sakuma et al. reported in ‘Int J of Social Sciences, 6(2), 193-207, 2020’ improved children's masticatory speed. Especially, it was found to be particularly effective for children with slow masticatory speed, and we propose this as an educational method to promote mastication and swallowing movements during school lunch time for elementary school children.
Keywords: mastication and swallowing, background music, masticatory speed, school lunch, dietary and nutrition education
Count : 821
Underestimated active joint motions in patients with distal radius fractures:
An observational study
Publish Date : 2021/08/21  Vol.21
Authors : 
Kengo Usuki, Department of Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Saitama
Prefectural University; Rehabilitation Center, Kitasato University Medical Center
Takako Suzuki, Department of Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Saitama
Prefectural University
Hiroaki Ueda, Rehabilitation Center, Kitasato University Medical Center
Toshiyuki Ishioka, Department of Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Saitama
Prefectural University
*Toyohiro Hamaguchi, Department of Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Saitama
Prefectural University
Report Outline : 
Purpose: Accumulating evidence indicates that underestimation of movements of the fractured hands
leads to delayed recovery of motor function in patients with distal radius fractures (DRF). This study
aimed to clarify the underestimated active range of motion (ROM) of a fractured hand in patients with DRF.
Subjects and Methods: This single-center, observational study included adult female with DRF or without
fractures in the upper limbs and hands. They were divided into the following three groups: (1) DRF,
(2) healthy and unrestricted ROM, and (3) healthy and limited ROM with jigs. All participants estimated
ROM of the wrist and forearm joints at the fracture side based on that at the healthy side. Analysis of
covariance was used to determine differences among the three groups. Outcome measures were differences
between actual and self-conjectural ROM.
Results: The subjective ROM degrees of DRF patients were -20° for volar flexion, -21° for dorsal flexion, -31° for
pronation, and -24° for supination, which were lower than those of Non-fracture participants.
Significant differences between subjectively estimated and actual ROM degrees among groups in wrist joint
volar flexion (χ2 = 26.01, p < 0.01), dorsal flexion (χ2 = 24.00, p < 0.01), pronation (χ2 = 14.10, p < 0.01),
and supination (χ2 = 15.19, p < 0.01) were observed.
Conclusions: This study indicates that self-conjectural ROM of injured joints is underestimated in patients with DRF.
Our findings suggest that active movements should be encouraged in DRF patients with modest hand use.
Key words: Distal radius fracture, Rehabilitation, Self-conjecture, ADL, Range of motion
Count : 424
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