The aim of this paper is to use multivariate analysis to classify the two-stringed rubbing instruments collected during the field survey in Inner Mongolia, China, from the perspective of materials, and to examine the characteristics of each category. As a result, the 82 samples were classified into 4 categories: “Indigenous type used surrounding natural materials", “Inherited type supplemented by synthetic materials", “Replication type mainly used artificial materials" and “Mass production type made by machines". In addition, these characteristics were examined in four phases, from the social environment and the lifestyle in Inner Mongolia, namely (1) the Ming Dynasty to 1960s, (2) the 1960s to the 1980s, (3) the 1980s to the early part of the 21st century, and (4) the 21st century onwards.

This paper is to reveal the cultural characteristics embedded in the production and storage of "Chor", one of the two-stringed friction instrument in the Horqin region of Inner Mongolia. The findings of the study are as follows: (1) The process of making Chor is an expression of the Mongolian people's involvement in the natural resource recycling system, and has been handed down in their daily lives, forming a culture of manufacturing that is unique to nomadic life. (2) All the materials used to produce Chor truly express spiritual symbolism, and Chor are thought to have been a medium for embodying Mongolian beliefs. (3) In the production and storage of Chor, the wisdom of 'resource recycling', 'resource utilisation' and 'sustainability' has been shared in daily life, fostering a common sense of values among the local people, which embodies the 'symbiotic', 'coexistence' and 'fusion' relationship between human and nature. (4) The production and storage of Chor has fostered the Mongolian concept of 'usable for a lifetime'.

Since many hobby beekeepers want smaller and lighter beehives, we have developed a hive that is less than half the size and weight of the Langstroth beehive. The developed small beehives were assumed to be used by hobbyist beekeepers to raise European honeybees. The developed beehives were able to joint multiple beehives in various directions. Therefore, it was possible to cope with an increase in the population of honey bees, and it was also possible to change the shape of the beehive to the shape that hobbyist beekeepers like. As a result of breeding European honey bees in the small beehives, there were no problems with the temperature and humidity inside the beehives and the population of honey bees. The productivity, quality, and workability of the honey obtained were the same as in the case of breeding in the Langstroth beehive.

This study aimed to examine the effects of conceptual information on the user's product understanding in an operation manual for an electrical appliance. For this purpose, the comprehension level of users of the microwave oven was investigated using the following four types of information: no manual, conventional manual, paper-based conceptual explanation, and video-based conceptual explanation. The dependent variables were mainly the participants' self-evaluations and the test scores for understanding the product. The comparison results between the four conditions indicated that the conceptual information about the mechanism enhances the comprehension of products. Besides, the effectiveness of the video manual was more than that of the paper manual.

This study aims to explore the process of story creation within design workshops, with a particular focus on discerning variations in this creative process among multiple people and individuals. To do this, we created an experimental game that simulates the story creation process and analyzed the online environment through experiments. After conducting a qualitative analysis, we discovered three important points. Firstly, there were differences in the process of creating a new point of view between individual and paired conditions. Secondly, in the paired condition, the timing of discussions for sharing cognitive space and differences in strategies for mutual creation were suggested to affect story creation. Lastly, it is suggested that when there is a mismatch in the story creation strategy, the internal collaboration between the pairs may not be successful. By taking these findings into consideration, we believe that the effectiveness of collaboration in design workshop sessions for story creation can be improved.

In this study, we focused on the skills of in-hospital designers, examined their awareness, and attempted to explore the scope of contribution of the design field in medical practice. As a result, we found that the following four skills are required for in-hospital designers. Design skills to disseminate information inside and outside the hospital, mediation skills to understand the standpoints of users and medical professionals, medical knowledge to collect appropriate information, and communication skills with medical professionals. Overall, in-hospital designers need to collect accurate information through building relationships with medical professionals, understand the positions of both parties, be attentive to mediating with users, and strive to convey information in an easy-to-understand manner.