Since January 2020, risk management against the novel coronavirus disease （COVID-19） has become an urgent social issue. Ergonomics can contribute to reducing social anxiety under the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive （CBRNE） disasters through risk communication. This paper discusses ergonomic research issues for crisis and emergency risk communication （CERC） among stakeholders to promote appropriate understanding and behavioral change against social anxiety caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Finally we summarized ergonomic research issues from following four perspectives: 1） CERC factors in CBRNE disasters, 2） action-oriented communication mitigating social anxiety, 3） ergonomic theory and practice against the public health crisis of COVID-19, and 4） academic role of human factors and ergonomics communities.

In Safety-1, safety is defined as having as few as possible negative outcomes, and in Safety-2, safety is defined as having as many success outcomes as possible. In this study, we aimed to experimentally verify the effectiveness of using Safety-1 mode and Safety-2 mode properly according to the situational variability, and to derive a quantitative indicator of the situational variability that should switch between both modes. The following was clarified from the result of the simulation experiment which assumed fire extinguishing activity. 1） The larger the situational variability, the more cases will be switched from Safety-1 mode to Safety-2 mode, but switching to the Safety-2 mode is a minority, as long as the situation does not change by more than 15 times the steady state. 2） The larger the situational variability, the more successful outcomes will be in the Safety-2 mode than in the Safety-1 mode, and an indication of better switching timing to achieve a successful outcome is that the magnitude of the situational variability 4-6 times relative to steady state.

Generally, non-contact gaze input devices require calibration before using. However, it is difficult for people with severe multiple disabilities who is mentally challenged and have difficulty in moving their bodies as they wish, to move their eyes according to the instructions. It takes time and effort to use a dedicated device, which makes them difficult to express intentions by looking. In this study, we constructed a real-time gaze area estimation system that does not require calibration while maintaining the resolution required for challenged people. Using a usual web camera, gaze area estimation was realized by learning eye and facial appearance with Convolutional Neural Network （CNN）. Next, 36 gazing points were set on the screen, and the evaluation experiments were performed by changing the relative distance between the camera and the face, and the posture angle of the face. In conclusion, it was confirmed that practical accuracy of the basic posture was maintained up to 1,200 mm for the distance, 100 mm downward in terms of position. The results for the posture angle were obtained for one subject only, but it was shown that the accuracy was maintained up to 10 degrees for the yaw, 15 degrees for the pitch, and 15 degrees for the roll angle, respectively.

In focusing on the manner in which drivers recognize extraordinary events occurring in front of them, visual searching is crucial. The purpose of this study is to investigate effective visual searching in recognizing extraordinary events based on the eye movements of drivers. One hundred twenty one drivers of a railway company participated in our study. An experiment was conducted using a railway driving simulator with eye tracker. The given driving scenario was a multi-task scenario in which the main task was to stop the simulated train before a ground device malfunction. The important sub-task was to recognize an extraordinary event, which was a subsidence of railway track on their right. Participants who stopped the simulated train before passing the subsidence were identified as part of the Recognizing Group; participants who passed the subsidence were identified as part of the Non-recognizing Group. Visual behaviors of both groups were analyzed. The findings revealed that total of gaze duration in ahead area by the Recognizing Group was longer than that by the Non-recognizing Group. Each gaze duration in ahead area by the Recognizing Group was also longer than that by the Non-recognizing Group.

This study aimed to clarify the effects of floor and air temperature change during floor heating onset on physiological and psychological responses in the human body. The experiments were conducted in an experimental house with 8 healthy young women wearing winter clothes（0.9clo）. The participants were exposed to 4 conditions with different heating rates at floor heating onset for 210 min including a 30 min rest, while sitting on a chair. Skin and core temperatures were measured, and the participants were asked to report thermal sensation and comfort. As a result, when floor temperature was increased rapidly during floor heating onset, the change in skin temperature was delayed, and core temperature decreased. In addition, the participants tended to feel more comfortable when their rating of thermal sensation was high as they continued to feel warm despite the high floor temperature of approximately 40℃. We found that not only sole and mean skin temperature but also the decrease of core temperature was related to thermal sensation. These findings suggest that setting the floor temperature based on thermal sensation and comfort during floor heating onset may lead to excessive heating.