JOURNAL OF ASIAN ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING ENGINEERING 20(4) 383-397 2021年7月
This study investigated the wayfinding strategy and efficiency. Experiments involving 44 participants (22 Japanese and 22 Taiwanese nationals) were conducted in Tamsui, Taiwan and Yokohama, Japan. Experimental tools included electronic and paper maps. Participants were in an unfamiliar environment, understood environmental information differently, and used different navigation tools. The researchers recorded the participants' walking time, path, and the number of turns from the starting point to the destination. SPSS statistical software was used to conduct one-way and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings revealed the following. First, when navigating linear roads and being uncertain about the accessibility of map-presented roads, relative to local participants, foreign participants were more likely to choose roads that were at the exit of the MRT station and take more identifiable roads. Second, all participants used landmarks when navigating intersecting parallel roads, but participants who used paper maps were more likely to use obvious buildings as landmarks. Third, in the wayfinding process, participants who used both electronic and paper maps made more turns when wayfinding in a familiar environment than in an unfamiliar environment. Participants familiar with the navigation tool exhibited a lower walking time.
Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 1256 AISC 55-65 2020年
This study investigates the influence of nationality, ages, and address systems on the use of digital maps in wayfinding. Examining how user—whether they are merely browsing maps or actively trying to find a destination—perceive and interact with their environments. Also, assessing the current problems is regarded digital maps, comparing user experiences of participants from different nationalities, age groups, and genders through a questionnaire. The subjects are Taiwanese and Japanese, and either in their 20s or above the age of 60. The crucial result is focusing on results of determined and undetermined destination how the users operate digital maps. In principal component analysis, age of 20s user have four factors influence digital map functions: (1) Orientation; (2) Advice Tip; (3) Decision Making, and (4) Atmosphere. But for user who are above 60s, they are categorized three factors: (1) Tourism Tip; (2) Orientation; and (3) Surrounding. When 20s go for traveling the orientation will be essential information, nevertheless user who is above 60 sees Tourism Tip as priority.
Journal of the Science of Design 4(2) 2_67-2_74 2020年
<p>This study investigates the influence of nationality, ages, and address systems on the use of digital maps in wayfinding. The examination shows how user-whether they are merely browsing maps or actively trying to find a destination-perceive and interact with their environments. Also, assessing the current problems regarding digital maps. It compares user experiences of participants from different nationalities, age groups, and genders through a questionnaire. The subjects are from Taiwan and Japan, and either in their 20s or above the age of 60. Through a Chi-square test, some significant differences between nationality, age, and sex was revealed. For example, Taiwanese use street names, landmarks, and outward appearances of destinations to help them confirm their own position. When user above the age of 60 try to establish their location, they rely on three aids. In principal component analysis, four factors influence digital map functions: (1) Orientation; (2) Tourism Information; (3) Atmosphere; and (4) Checking Information. In these usability problems, especially three wayfinding aids and the factors of operating map, which means the map should not only be considerate as a tool that all kind of people can understand and how user interact among themselves, map and environment. And the order and wayfinding aids can be set as following the three wayfinding tasks for different kind of groups of users to have a more comfortable and usable map using experience.</p>
JOURNAL OF ASIAN ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING ENGINEERING 18(4) 298-310 2019年7月
This study was conducted in the city of Yokohama, which has featured several charming tourist attractions such as China town and old Western-style historical buildings, as the place of study to investigate the difference between tourists using paper maps and those using digital maps in their movement behaviors. And both foreign and local participants were engaged in the study to explore the travel movement effects of participants with diverse experience and backgrounds. This study found that the paper map group traveled fewer repeated roads and had a higher circuitous movement rate in terms of walking distance. In terms of cognitive maps, the number of drafted attractions was larger in the paper map group than in the electronic map group. However, the attraction location accuracy as drafted by the electronic map group was higher than that of the paper map group. In the mirror-image discrimination test, the paper map group fully recognized more attraction photographs than did the electronic map group. The accuracy of the drafted attraction locations was higher for foreign participants than for local participants. The foreign participants had recognized more photographs than the local participants did.
YUYAMA Hiroko, HARA Hiromichi, SATO Kiminobu, SHIMIZU Tadao
デザイン学研究 61(5) 5_29-5_34 2015年
The objective of the present study is to identify guidelines for the design of a raised bed for gardening activities conducted together by senior citizens. The experiment was planned assuming work in a standing posture. Circular raised beds with rims of three different widths and a height of 76 cm were prepared, and 38 subjects made 6 types of body movements imitating gardening work while in a standing posture. The following results were obtained. (1) It is thought to be desirable to install a rim with a variable width of up to 20cm. (2) Based on their average stature, a rough estimate of the distance up to which work is possible by senior citizens is thought to be about 60 cm from the front edge of the rim of the raised bed. (3) It is desirable to select a material for the rim of the raised bed that is suitable for supporting the body with the hands. Furthermore, the front edge of the rim needs to be shaped such that work can be done while the pelvis or thigh(s) are in contact with it without hurting the body.
Nowadays many museums provide electronic guides in order to improve visitors' experience. In this paper we are examining the usability of audio devices instead of the traditional guides. This was done by Comparing the experience, advantages and disadvantages of foreign visitors using audio device and visitors who don't. National Museum of Nature and Science was chosen as the case study according to its large size and high visiting rate of foreigners. Information was gathered through an experiment, questionnaires and interview with the subjects. These results obtained lead to a detailed analysis suggesting some recommendations for future versions of the device as well as some improvements in the exhibition space.
SATO Kiminobu, KON Yuichi, KUSHIDA Risa, IZUMISAWA Aya, TSUJI Nahoko
デザイン学研究 57(5) 109-116 2011年
This paper carries out a classification of the existing interactive exhibits at a science museum. Various interactive exhibits are examined to identify their characteristics, which are used for evaluation purposes to create a matrix for evaluation of each exhibit. The Quantification Method III is used to elucidate the overall characteristics of the target exhibits. Cluster analysis is applied to these results so as to sort into groups. By plotting the target exhibits on 'the degree-of-freedom' and 'the development of understanding vs. the opportunities of learning' axes, it is possible to ascertain the characteristics of these exhibits. It is clear that six groups can be formed, each with different characteristics. Visitor interviews and video recordings are taken of visitors'utterances and behavior to examine how the visitors engage with the exhibits. From the data is compared to examine the relationship between the characteristics of the exhibits and the evaluations of the visitors, the popular exhibits tend to be 'physical entertainment' type exhibits where 'interaction between the exhibit and the visitor' and 'communication between visitors' occurred in more or less the same proportion. In other words, the exhibits that evoke interaction with the exhibit as well as communication between visitors in good balance are considered to be very enjoyable.
In this paper, the research targets are selected from 6 groups of interactive exhibits which are classified in 'Analysis on Interactive Exhibits at Science Museums-Part 1' from those found in many science museums. While observing these utterances of the visitors through the video-recorded behavior, the contents are examined and 13 categories of utterances are classified according to their meaning and intention. The result shows that the presence of other people surrounding the children and the way with which the children relate to them are especially important for child's education/development. The experience impresses the children that interacting with the exhibit is 'fun' and leaves a long lasting memory with it. Along this thought, the paper concludes that it becomes crucial to elaborate the specific ways to draw the attention of their parents, guardians and other surrounding people to have fun experiences together with the children (the visitors) and enjoy being with them. From the standpoint of the goal achievement of exhibition, it can further be suggested that the guardians should try to enjoy jointly with the children, rather than just let them do what they want. The appropriate implementation of interactive exhibits needs this parallel planning perspective.
Exhibition design and the guidance system available for visitors are always important issues in large museums. In this study, Edo-Tokyo museum was chosen as the case study according to its size and high visiting rate. Information was gathered through a questionnaire, an interview with museum's staff and an experiment to record visitors' behavior during their visit in the museum using the Think Aloud Method. The information clarified a number of problems foreign visitors face and recommendations were made to improve the current situation especially on information available on displays.
SUZUKI Naoto, SATO Kiminobu, TERAUCHI Fumio, HACHIMA Satoshi, KOYAMA Sinichi
デザイン学研究 56(5) 97-106 2010年
"Hometown designer", as a profession, let alone as a terminology, has yet to folly bloom and become recognized in Japan. The academic program offered by Chiba University in Isumi City, Chiba Prefecture, intends to boost this recognition and its stature. The program offers an opportunity for students to work closely with residents and to develop their leadership skills, as well as improve their design and implementation capacities. Rhetorically connoting a medical prescription written by a home doctor to treat an illness, the academic program on "designing a living" reflects a careful diagnosis of the drastic changes to the cultural, social, environmental, and economic conditions particular to a region or town and the solutions thereof. With this acting as a rubric or new perception of a hometown designer's role, this paper analyzes the basic approaches that a hometown designer should apply and the key factors that assure sustainable regional promotion. Specifically, these refer to the academic program's features on identifying indigenous resources (treasures), identifying and screening nonproblem-solving-based ideas, and formulating visions. The concept of Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) and the Flowering of the Total Person (Jinshin-no-hana) constitute the basic guiding principles of the work of a hometown designer.
SATO Kiminobu, SUZUKI Naoto, TERAUCHI Fumio, HACHIMA Satoshi, KOYAMA Shinichi
デザイン学研究 57(4) 77-86 2010年
When designing a living aims to enhance regional values through the employment of cultural resources and local indigenous resources (i.e., the local population, environment etc.), its sustainability should not be assessed in economic terms. Rather, it should be assessed through various social perspectives and reviewed from various macro perspectives as well as from micro design functions, which are closely related to cultural elements. Besides these perspectives, the nature and magnitude of the design goal should be integral criteria in the critical assessment of the rationality of the proposed "designing a living" program. The Integrated Design Engineering Project (IDEP) 2010 implemented by Chiba University in Isumi, Chiba Prefecture intends to show that the living conditions of a particular locale or region can be improved through the activation of positive social linkages and exchanges within the local population. This paper analyzes the sustainability of this idea from three dimensions and lays down specific evaluation guidelines. Evaluation for designing a living is a critical activity and is an integral function of hometown designers in their task of reinvigorating specific places. Learning the various features of evaluation is an indispensable skill that should be nurtured by a hometown designer.
We have learned from previous studies on long distance and short distance that subjects tend to be either of non-wandering priority or of wandering priority during their travel. So how underground limits affect users' wayfinding behavior between travels will be conducted in this study. Experiments on those with a non-wandering priority wayfinding with time constraint and wandering priority wayfinding without time constraint were then conducted to simulate the real situation of people travelling in an under-ground station. It is found that directional signs are used simply to make the users follow instructions and to direct people to move straight ahead, but the people had to see the sign before they could make a judgment. It only provides the information needed so that they can easily find and follow the path to their destination. Orientation signs force users to memorize the information shown on the map and confirm their memory while moving from one unfamiliar place to another. Under time stress, users require more functions from the information signs than what the system itself can actually provide.
The purpose of this study is to understand how information signs correspond to users' various wayfinding behavior and how the signs serve their needs such as safety, pleasure, and smooth passage when walking between above-ground train stations. In order to find out how information signs work in diverse situations, interchange routes were set up for the subjects in two wayfinding experiments: one long-distance and the other short-distance. The results of the experiments showed a variety of behavior, even though the subjects had no time constraints. On the long-distance routes, the subjects requested maps or signs showing the particulars along the routes. It is evident that the subjects were generally in a lighthearted mood wandering about and really caring about the effectiveness of self-orientation. On the other hand, directional signs were requested for the short-distance route. Unfortunately, few signs were provided between the train stations. The subjects had to keep making decisions along the routes, especially when they were at intersections, where the information signs should be enhanced by providing a great number of signs. For these reasons, user needs suggested by the subjects' wayfinding behavior should be considered when planning information signs.
This study investigates the current status of overlapped auditory information given at railroad stations and the evaluation on provided auditory information at platforms. The experiment was performed by visually impaired persons and sighted individuals. The survey revealed that factors affecting hearing of audible information include (1) excessive noise caused by passing trains, and (2) superposition of provided auditory information. The impression evaluation in the experiment which is focusing on overlapped auditory information results that the ways of grasping which receives from each situation and valuation basis by different attribute will have great difference compare with the provided situation of different auditory information.
The purpose of this study is to research and analyze the attitude of users (consumers) toward environmental concern context. The questionnaires were answered by the users living in Chiba City. According to the Survey Results : users gave strong consideration to socio-cultural factor for solution of the present environmental issues. As consumers they showed a pro-environmental attitude and they gave attention to the environmental aspects during the purchase of a product. About a half of users affirmed that if company (ies) introduced new products with radical environmental aspects in marketing, the lifestyle of consumers could be changed. The majority of users express interest to receive environmental education in which the main topics are related with consumption of households products and waste.
This study aims at getting an idea which explains the usage and function of Gi-lou spaces through close examination of identification of the temporary elements and the changes in kind and number of elements involved in these spaces with the change of time. As a result, it was found out that the kind and number of these elements increase remarkably in the afternoon to evening of Saturday and Sunday compared to a weekday in keeping with the increase of the traffic. It seems that the spaces are deeply incorporated into the lifestyle of city people in Taiwan.
This paper focuses on the physical elements found in public-private partitioning of space in residential area. And their psychological effect on the formation of the streetscape image are examined. The results of this study are as follows; 1) People prefer the physical elements which consist of natural elements such as flowers, plants and trees. These elements are useful for streetscape designs and public-private partitioning of space, because they bring people good impressions. 2) The streetscape design involves the important factor to make people active, and its good effect is expected. 3) In residential areas, streetscape designs and public-private partitioning of space have the potential to form a good regional community and image.