In order to design effective television commercials (CM's), it is strongly suggested that sounds as well as visual elements should be exposed efficiently, taking into account the effects generated by combination of auditory information and visual information. In this paper, an analysing scheme, which is based on eye tracking analysis, for influences of auditory information on watching sequence during viewing of CM's is proposed. In this scheme, we define two measurements, the rate of gaze at element with sound and the rate of gaze at redundant element, relating to the two contrastive CM gaze patterns. Using real-broadcasted CM's, a series of experiments was carried out to obtain subjects' eye movement data. Applying the proposed analysis scheme, we could analyse differences among subjects' watching sequences affected by auditory information based on the two measurements. We put an interpretation on these analysis results in terms of the followings: relationship of the observed differences and subjects' attributes, relationship between subjects' memory of brand names and auditory information, and influences of auditory information on subjects' comprehension of advertised brands. Considering the results obtained in a series of analysis, the proposed analysing scheme seems to be useful.

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Human control behavior is examined under the attention awaked by an auditory stimulus in a manual tracking control system, and then the useful measures of the attention awakening for the training system is considered, as a basic study for constructing the training system that utilizes human cognitive characteristics. A control task is a pursuit control for a step signal. The auditory stimulus is presented to a subject just before the step signal is occurred. The reaction time and the performance score are examined for experimental conditions in which the stimulus presentation time (ST) and the stimulus lead time (LT) are combined. As the results, it was indicated that the human operator's passive attention level increased by the stimulus is transient. Furthermore, the passive attention depends on the active attention level that increases with the start of the measurement and/or on the type of control task (the steady control task in which the human operator deals with the same step input or the selective control task in which he/she deals with the step input with the different height). However, the lead stimulus is effective for the reduction of the reaction time and the improvement of the performance score if it was presented in a proper timing. These results can be applied in the control system that deals with the random reference input, because, in such a manual control system, the attention level for the reference input must be changed by the allocation of the attention. Additionally, it was suggested that the lead stimulus should be designed so as to have information according to a control situation and/or a trainee's control level, in the application to the training system.

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In order to prevent a decline in the arousal level during monotonous tasks, a short-term rest is one method to overcome this. This study aims to examine how to take an effective rest. Then, using the methods (closing one's eyes or listening to music) that would reduce the arousal level, the relationship between the differences of the changes in EEG during the rest period and the subsequent task performance were investigated. In addition, the effects of the methods that would restore the arousal level for the subsequent task performance were discussed. The transition of EEG during the rest period was classified into 3 types: (1) increasing the power of θ, α2 and β1; (2) increasing the power of θ only; and (3) no change of EEG activity. There was a significant interaction between the 3 types and the latter half of the performance. Decline in performance was only seen in Type 3, while Type 1 was the best one for carrying out the task. The method, which would restore the arousal level, could enhance the task performance for only type 1. From the comparison with the types and the stages of sleep, it could be assumed that sleeping at the stage 2 depth during the rest period is very useful to maintain the subsequent performance.

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The author investigated eyestrain induced by gazing the random-dots stereogram on the parallax barrier system 3D display in 41 normal subjects. The subjects were divided into 4 groups according to the type of the correction. Near point of accommodation, accommodative relaxation and contraction times were measured using an accommodo-polyrecorder before and after a stereoscopic visual load. And the subjective symptoms were assessed by a 7-point rating questionnaire at the same time of the measurements. After 15min sustained the visual load, near point of accommodation was prolonged significantly in the groups of without correction and soft contact lenses (SCL), and accommodative contraction and relaxation times were significant delayed in the groups of without correction, hard contact lenses (HCL) and SCL except for spectacles. These changed values of accommodation were regained the pre-value following the rest. Significant increase in the rating questionnaire was found in the subjective symptoms of “eyestrain”, “eye heaviness”, “dimming”, “eye dryness” and “irritation of eyes” after loading in the groups of without correction, HCL and SCL. There was no significant change in the subjective symptom of “dimming” and “eye dryness” in the spectacles group. From these results, it is concluded that gazing at stereoscopic images on the parallax barrier system 3D display causes eyestrain severer in case of the correction of contact lenses or without correction than in case of the spectacles.

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When the muscular strength of the lower limbs deteriorates, it is common for humans to stand up with assistance from their upper limbs. In such cases, because the thighs, the trunk and the upper limbs consist of a closed link from the knee joint upwards, the hip joint moment cannot be determined as an inverse problem from positional information concerning the joints alone. Accordingly, this study attempts to analyze the inverse dynamics of the lower limb moments by measuring the force acting of the lower limbs from the hands as well as the floor reaction force. Ten healthy adult males participated in the experiment, which analyzed the joint angles and joint moment of the lower limbs over four conditions, based on two chair heights and whether or not the hands were on the thighs. As a result, with assistance from the upper limbs when standing up, it was possible to shift the body load forward stably through a larger flexion of the hip joint, and the cooperation working of the lower limbs to raise the upper body were reduced. Furthermore, the load on the knee joint when standing up was reduced due to reductions in the maximum values for the knee extension moment.

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