As stated in the 14th Occupational Safety and Health Program by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan, the land freight transportation industry has the highest rate of low back pain, making the study of ergonomic measures an urgent issue. The present article conducted a scoping review to overview the measures taken to prevent low back pain, and identified the known measures. Furthermore, based on the Blue Ocean strategies, meaning viewpoints lacking in the existing measures’ deficiencies, new primary prevention measures have been examined, and summarized as eight research issues to be addressed for the future as follows: 1） Application of digital health technology, 2） Verification of passive lumbar assist suit （an assistive suit without a power source） and its’ adherence, 3） Re-design of manual material handling load to be approached from the perspective of physical fitness training, 4） Validation of participatory approach as a primary prevention of low back pain, 5） Identification of psycho-social factors specific to the transportation industry, 6） Measures to prevent low back pain considering diversity, 7） Validation of an action-oriented holistic approach, and 8） Studies on appropriate spontaneous work-rest schedule design.

This study investigated the acceptance of immersive virtual reality （IVR） technology by junior high school students. In Study 1, 37 junior high school students and 15 parents experienced IVR for about an hour with a break in between and answered a questionnaire. As a result, while there was a certain percentage of complaints of cybersickness, they also showed positive attitudes towards IVR. In Study 2, 12 head mounted displays （HMDs） were lent to 12 junior high school students, and regular weekly meetings were held for 12 weeks. As a result, 10 out of 12 students participated in meetings for more than seven weeks or more. There were also reports of cybersickness, while the participants also expressed positive attitudes towards IVR technology. The value of spatial presence was also high.

This review aims to summarize the human factors and ergonomic understanding of science communication and to present future perspectives, based on discussions within the Science Communication Research Committee of the Japan Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. It first reviewed the definitions, trends, and approaches to science communication, and introduced practices in the field of human factors and ergonomics （HFE） based on its various types. It then discussed the roles of science communication in the context of risk management, outlined key considerations for effective interventions, presented HFE approaches tailored to participants’ human traits, and identified the competencies required of science communicators. Finally, it summarized issues for practice and research, and proposed directions for advancing science communication within the domain of HFE. We hope this review contributes to a shared understanding of science communication in HFE and serves as a foundation for its future development.

In recent years, Virtual Reality （VR） and Mixed Reality （MR） technologies have been increasingly adopted for usability evaluation and training applications in product development. However, these virtual environments can induce a mismatch between visual and tactile feedback, potentially leading to user discomfort. This study aims to quantitatively evaluate the threshold of visual change—i.e., the psychological tolerance range—at which users begin to perceive discomfort when interacting with a switch in a VR environment. A VR setup was constructed that allows independent control of visual and tactile stroke parameters. Experiments were conducted under three tactile stroke conditions （5 mm, 10 mm, and 15 mm）, in which the visual stroke was gradually varied. Logistic regression models were constructed based on the stroke values at which participants reported discomfort. The results showed a tendency for the tolerance range to widen as the tactile stroke increased. This suggests that larger tactile strokes may reduce sensitivity to visual-tactile mismatches. The findings provide a quantitative basis for designing user interfaces in VR and teleoperation systems, contributing to the improvement of sensory quality and reduction of perceived discomfort.

The present study aimed to develop a tool for evaluating interpersonal relationships between medical professionals such as doctors and nurses and patients in medical practice. Our interpersonal relationship evaluation tool consists of an other-evaluation tool and a self-evaluation tool. The other-evaluation tool is made of urethane resin with five different degrees of hardness, and evaluates the psychological distance between the user and another person by the sensation of hardness when the user grips the tool. The self-evaluation tool is a sphere with protrusions that increase in size across five stages, and the user evaluates his or her own rigidity by the shape. We conducted three experiments, the results of which suggested the effectiveness and usefulness of the both evaluation tools.