In 424B.C., Aristophanes, a most famous comic poet, had his chorus appeal that Selene complained the calendar did not observe the moon to the Athenian citizens in Clouds. Many students of the calendar or astronomy, especially B.D.Meritt and W.K.Pritchett, have argued over his jest and the calendar of the last quarter of the fifth century Athens. But we have had no persuasive opinion so far. This article is to reexamine historical inscriptions and literal sources that the scholars have examined. Athenians had two calendars in those days. One was a calendar of the prytanies (the Standing Committee) which was divided into ten ‘months’, the other was a lunar calendar which we can call a festival calendar. These two calendars began and ended their years separately. All the scholars have thought that either of these calendars had its regularity, and that the complaints of the moon was caused by the irregularity of the other calendar. But I found the regularities of these two calendars reexamining the inscriptions of IG i3 369 or i3 377. But this regularity did not continue through the last fifth century. It was revised one time around 419/8 B.C. After this revision, the new system had its regularity, and this has long puzzled scholars.

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Intellectual working tasks like a VDT task which cause mental strain are mainly performed in a modern office. Performing the tasks for several hours causes increasing fatigue, decreasing alertness and performance. But behaviors of refreshment (RF) can reduce these affects. The purpose of this study was to evaluate temporal variability characteristics of the mental and physiological state with the unforced RF during the intellectual working task in a sitting posture. As a result, heart rate after the unforced RF was lower than that before the unforced RF for several minutes. And the high frequency power of R-R interval variability (HF) as an index of parasympathetic nerve activity after the unforced RF was higher than that after the forced RF for several minutes. The temporal variability of heart rate and HF with short-time unforced RF showed the characteristics which reached deactivated and less strained state briefly, then recovered a default state. These results suggest that the amplitude of these variability characteristics can be higher with an office environment which supports occurring short-time unforced RF and the briefly effects of the unforced RF reducing workload caused by intellectual working tasks in the office may become greater.

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate time-series behavior in EOG(Electro-oculogram) signals as a quantitative evaluation method about process of mastering skills for producing traditional crafts. Time-series behavior in EOG signals during the tasks were analyzed as the basic skills for producing lacquer wares. The 3-minute tasks were performed 5 times a day for 5 days. EOG electrodes were attached obliquely horizontal level and measured during painting canvases. Two groups were classified. One was a quantity group whose painting scores were increased linearly. And the other was a quality group whose painting scores were not increased. There was a relationship that the rhythm of EOG period was shortened and the stability of EOG time-series behavior increased according to increasing the task speed in the quantity group. And there was a relationship that the stability of EOG time-series behavior increased according to increasing the task speed and the task quality in the quality group. These results suggests that a process of mastering skills can be evaluated quantitatively by analyzing time-series behavior of EOG signals during a task.

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Influenced by modernization since the Meiji era, “time shared in common” by people has transformed to “discretionary time by individuals”. This phenomenon has lead people to “future minded” attitude, which generated uneasiness and fear toward their future. In such context, the author intends to discuss the issue of “people who became unable to live the present”, in relations to individualization and fear towards future. According to the research by the Cabinet Office of Japan, some 70% of Japanese live their lives with uneasiness and fear towards their future. This suggests the magnitude of people’s stress to live on self-responsibility, with loss of communities to belong to, and such stress amplifies fear toward their future. This tendency is apparent to urban young generation, and is considered to be one of the main causes of their high suicide ratio. Fear toward future is the cause of pulling down people’s objectives of everyday life to mere money making means, and there lies the structure of impediment. Needless to state, such structure is not limited to young generation but is shared by all of us living in modern world. In this text, the author endeavors to search the possibilities and means to extricate us from this “present under the reign of future”.

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