• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.299-308
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• 2012

Objective: This study presents the conceptual framework and the conceptual model to account for user experience by expanding the existing concepts of usability, in particular considering the user-interface environment in digital convergence. Background: To better understand a variety of users interacting with a converged product based on digital technologies, there seems to be a limit to consider the existing concepts of usability. All possible aspects of user's interaction with a product in a context of use need to be taken into consideration. Method: This study identifies the concept of user experience through a comprehensive literature review. Results: First, this study reviews the existing concepts of usability and user experience. And then this study describes four main components in the conceptual framework of user experience: user's internal states, user's external states, a product, and various outcomes, each of which encompasses distinct sub-components. The conceptual model of user experience accounts for how user's internal states change over time and for how different sub-components affect actual behavior of use. Conclusion: It is expected that these user experience concepts can be used in basic resources to better understand different behavioral characteristics of users and to better design interactive products in converged digital environments.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.559-568
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• 2017

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effective managerial factors influencing dose reduction of the nozzle dam installation and removal tasks ranking within top 3 in viewpoint of average collective dose of nuclear power plant maintenance job. Background: International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP) recommended to reduce unnecessary dose and to minimize the necessary dose on the participants of maintenance job in radiation fields. Method: Seven sessions of nozzle dam installation and removal task logs yielded a multiple regression model with collective dose as a dependent variable and work time, number of participants, space doses before and after shield as independent variables. From the sessions in which a significant reduction in collective dose occurred, the effective managerial factors were elicited. Results: Work time was the most important factor contributing to collective dose reduction of nozzle dam installation and removal task. Introduction of new technology in nozzle dam design or maintenance job is the most important factor for work time reduction. Conclusion: With extended task logs and big data processing technique, the more accurate prediction model illustrating the relationship between collective dose reduction and effective managerial factors would be developed. Application: The effective managerial factors will be useful to reduce collective dose of decommissioning tasks as well as regular preventive maintenance tasks for a nuclear power plant.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.355-372
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• 2017

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the performance and usability of ten-finger text entry on Tablet PCs. Background: Generally a soft keyboard is used on Tablet PCs. However, the soft keyboard's performance is usually worse than physical keyboard's performance. In this study, we proposed a modified keyboard for tablet PCs to improve the performance of ten-finger text entry and evaluated the performance and subjective ratings of the keyboard. Method: The modified soft keyboard that is suggested in this study was compared with current Google and Samsung soft keyboards on Tablet PCs. Results: The three keyboards were not significantly different in terms of typing speed, error rate, and mental workload and showed bad performance. Also, the subjective ratings were not shown positively. Conclusion: Based on our results, ten-finger text entry using soft keyboards on Tablet PCs seems to be very difficult. However, we need to research the possibility continuously since ten-finger text entry can improve typing speed. Application: Our study can be a starting point of research that explores ten-finger text entry on Tablet PCs. The new soft keyboard design can be one of the soft keyboard alternatives. However, the key factors to improve the performance and usability of the soft keyboard will not be 'key size' or 'convenience to typing special characters or numbers', but other factors (e.g., 'tactile feedback').

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.325-341
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• 2017

Objective: The purpose of this study is to suggest the guidelines of operation phases to minimize injuries and musculoskeletal disorders in manual material handling (MMH) tasks through literature reviews. The guidelines are presented as the preparing phase, lifting phase, carrying phase, and lowering phase. Also, we summarized the non-numerical general guidelines for MMH tasks. Background: Manual material handling is still a main cause to musculoskeletal disorders. Method: Procedures of a literature review are classified into database selection, keyword search, title review, abstract review related to literature selection, guideline review and arrangement. A total 48 papers and books were analyzed in detail by title and abstract reviews. Results: In the preparing phase, we suggested the basic conditions in MMH, preparing procedure, clothing and protective equipment, and education. In the lifting and carrying phases, we recommended maximal acceptable weight by frequency and body posture. In the lowering phase, we suggested the lowest weight and safety body postures. Finally, we recommended general guidelines and guideline items for MMH. General guidelines are presented to suggest worker selection, technical education, and work design parts. Conclusion: We suggested the guidelines on the four operation phases of MMH tasks such as preparing, lifting, carrying, and lowering phases. Application: The findings of this study can be utilized as guidelines for proactive recommendations according to workers in MMH tasks.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2001

Conventionally the subjective assessment for measuring the human sensibility is always performed after an experiment or a stimulus is terminated. This aftermath method can not. exactly, reflect the human sensibility which is produced at the moment of the presentation of the stimulus. In the present study, a new real-time subjective assessment system is developed. The system is composed of two parts: the sensibility input part and the sensibility evaluation part. The sensibility input part gets the values, which are recorded on the input board using pen-mouse, from the evaluation of each subject on his/her own subjective sensibility for the stimulus. The sensibility evaluation part displays the level of the pleasantness and arousal on one and two dimension in real time. An experiment on the design of the input board that any subject can easily and exactly evaluates one's own sensibility is also included in this study. The system can be used for evaluating the human subjective sensibility in real time, and, also, can be applied to other subjective assessment tests that require real time evaluation.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1-10
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• 1997

This paper is concerned with the development and evaluation of the camera calibration method for a real-time head tracking system. Tracking of head movements is important in the design of an eye-controlled human/computer interface and the area of virtual environment. We proposed a video-based head tracking system. A camera was mounted on the subject's head and it took the front view containing eight 3-dimensional reference points(passive retr0-reflecting markers) fixed at the known position(computer monitor). The reference points were captured by image processing board. These points were used to calculate the position (3-dimensional) and orientation of the camera. A suitable camera calibration method for providing accurate extrinsic camera parameters was proposed. The method has three steps. In the first step, the image center was calibrated using the method of varying focal length. In the second step, the focal length and the scale factor were calibrated from the Direct Linear Transformation (DLT) matrix obtained from the known position and orientation of the camera. In the third step, the position and orientation of the camera was calculated from the DLT matrix, using the calibrated intrinsic camera parameters. Experimental results showed that the average error of camera positions (3- dimensional) is about $0.53^{\circ}C$, the angular errors of camera orientations are less than $0.55^{\circ}C$and the data aquisition rate is about 10Hz. The results of this study can be applied to the tracking of head movements related to the eye-controlled human/computer interface and the virtual environment.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.47-58
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• 2002

This research suggested the mathematical model (forward kinematics method) to provide the reference points of driver space more easily and accurately in designing the package layout of vehicle interiors. For this purpose, the lengths of body segments of drivers and various joint angles occurred while were used. The length data between joints for the mathematical model were extracted from $SAFEWORK^{\circed{R}}$ as well as 95th percentile male and 5th percentile female body dimensions were utilized. In addition, the angles of body segments were applied on its diverse values within proper ranges in order to compare them each other. the mathematical model in this study was based on the concept of converting polar coordinate system to Cartesian coordinate system so that reference points of driver space were acquired in Cartesian coordinate system after using the segment lengths of drivers and the joint angles of driving postures as an input of polar coordinate system. It is expected that reference points of driver space obtained from this research are helpful to the study on package layout that is appropriate for physical characteristics of drivers.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.35-46
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• 2002

This study was performed to determine the voluntary range of joint mobility for middle-aged Korean adults. One hundred and eighty-eight subjects(99 males and 89 females) at the age range of 40 to 60 participated for this study. Thirty body movements at various joints were conducted to measure the range of joint mobility. Subjects were grouped by Rohrer's into four based on 25th percentile. The data were analyzed to see the differences of range of joint mobility between sexes and Rohrer's index groups. The results of this study and previous studies were compared to see the differences of range of joint mobility due to the aging. Results of this study indicate that females are generally more flexible than males. Significant differences were found to exist in fourteen movement between sexes and in ten movements, females have larger range of joint mobility than males. There were no significant differences in range of joint mobility may have a tendency to decrease with ages. The results of this study provide important information in dynamic dimensions for middle-aged Korean and can be used to design the various and work places for the middle-aged.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.39-52
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• 2004

Icons are the main element of the graphic user interface (GUI). They can help users perform effectively on the computer, especially when the icons reflect user`s mental model. However, few studies in Korea represented Korean users` mental models in icon design. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to ascertain whether existing icons agreement with Korean twentieth mental model, and to deduce properties of Korean twentieth mental model. To do that, 10 icons from two commercially available toolbar-icons of word processing programs were compared with the newly developed icons, which were developed to represent Korean user`s mental modelthrough interviews, surveys, and mental model sketches. The results show that five new metaphors were found: a dog-eared part on the bottom right corner new for new document, a magnifying glass for search, a red pencil for spell-check, `＋` and `` signs in the magnifying glass for zoom, and a yellow post-it for paste. These new icons were preferred to the existing. Korean twentieth users preferred rather complex and dynamic icons than simple and static ones even though icon development guideline said simple icons are better.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.101-109
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• 2004

This paper reports the results on age and gender of Korean elderly people for the level of difficulty in performing household tasks (meal preparation, grocery shopping, house cleaning, laundry), personal tasks (dressing, bathing, grooming), transfer tasks (getting in and out of chairs, getting in and out of bath-tub, using stairs) and management tasks (using telephone, accessing mail, operating door locks). A questionnaire based on the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale was constructed and administered to 40 Korean elderly subjects aged from 65 to 84(mean age: 74.5, SD: 5.8) in Busan. Additionally, a logistic regression was performed with age (continuous variable) and gender as predictor variables, and reponses to individual questions as the categorical ordinal response variables. To determine appropriate age separation at which difficulty levels in performing activities of daily living change, a discriminant analysis was performed on the responses. All predictor variables were used in the analysis. Accommodating age related changes in functional abilities, and increasing functional independence of elderly people will entail significant design modifications to products, systems and environments for daily use and living.