In order to determine activation regions in the prefrontal cortices when subjects visualize three−dimensional problems, measurements of the concentration of oxygen−rich hemoglobin in the subjects’ blood were undertaken using the functional near−infrared spectral analysis(fNIRS)equipment made by Shimadzu Co., Ltd. From statistical analysis of the resulting data, there are clearly two regions of activation. One is at the upper left edge of prefrontal cortex and the other is at the lower right edge.

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This study aims to know the characteristics of the road structure by quantifying the road spatial factors, from the standpoint of visibility in the road network in Kyoto city, Kobe city and Osaka city. Kyoto city has the two different road structures. One of them is the orderly grid network in the urban area, the other is the complicated network in the mountain−ringed area. Kobe city has very complex road structures, because the roads were constructed along the complex shores. Osaka city has the road structures of high visibility, especially in the area in the center of Osaka city and bay area. And the areas in the east and south of Osaka city have the same tendency as the urban areas of Kyoto city and Kobe city. Therefore, in the case of analyzing the visibility of the road, to select these area as research zone is better for getting the generally findings of the visibility of the roads in the urban area

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Effects of reforms of National Curriculum Standards (NCS) on established level of learning about space−geometry/graphics until high schools were investigated by a questionnaire at the University of Tokyo. Changes of students’ spatial abilities were also analyzed by a Mental Cutting Test (MCT) before and after the execution of the current NCS at The University of Tokyo and at Nihon University. The results of Nihon University were compared with those of Meisei University. The principal results were as follows : Students’ established level of learning about the space-geometry/graphics decreased after the execution of the current NCS. The MCT scores at the University of Tokyo didn’t change after the execution of the current NCS, while the scores at Nihon University decreased significantly. These results suggested that the execution of the current NCS might cause a decrease of the spatial ability of students. Before the execution of the current NCS, the recent MCT scores were significantly lower than those in around 1990 at both universities. However, the decreases of the scores could be explained by the decreases of their University Entrance Deviation Values, meaning that the reform of NCS in these periods might not cause the changes of the spatial abilities of students.

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