A Study on the Relationship Between Decision-making Speed and Kansei Through Data Visualization

Data visualization is the processing of data, directed at a person, content, and purpose, to simplify decision-making for the person. In practice, does data visualization affect people's decision-making time? In this study, we formulate questions using tables and graphs for three data groups, with varying amounts of information. Twenty subjects are asked to answer the questions from least to most of information, and the time taken to answer them is measured. Following the experiment, the attributes of the subjects, including gender, age, occupation are obtained via a questionnaire. The experiment reveals that as information increases in the tabular format, the answering slows proportionally. In contrast, in the graph format, the responses do not slow down proportional to the increase in information. The relationship between the subjects’ attributes and the speed of answering is determined and some significant differences are found. Six patterns of relationship between the answering time for the tables and graphs are obtained. Subsequently, the relationship between these attributes and “change of flow from data to action (hereinafter called “the decision-making process”)” are examined in Kansei engineering, and the data visualization is found to be potentially effective at speeding up the decision-making process

Hepatocyte growth factor and invasion-stimulatory activity are induced in pleural fluid by surgery in lung cancer patients

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a stromal cell-derived cytokine that can stimulate matrix invasion by carcinoma cells. We analysed the concentrations of HGF and invasion-stimulatory activity in pleural fluid after lung surgery. The concentration of HGF in pleural fluids was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in seven patients who underwent pulmonary resection for primary or metastatic lung cancer. The effect of the pleural fluid on cancer cell invasion across reconstituted basement membrane (Matrigel) was assessed with a Boyden chamber assay using a lung adenocarcinoma cell line, A549. HGF levels in the pleural fluid after lung surgery ranged from 6.0 to 23.0 ng ml−1 (average: 10.2 ± 4.3 ng ml−1). The matrix invasion of lung carcinoma cells in the presence of the pleural fluid was significantly higher than that in the presence of culture medium alone or sera from normal subjects (P < 0.01). The invasion-stimulatory activity of the pleural fluid was strongly inhibited by HGF-neutralizing antibody. Positive correlation was found between the HGF level and invasion-stimulatory activity in the pleural fluids and normal sera (P = 0.0073). This is the first report demonstrating that the lung surgery induces a considerable amount of HGF, which is closely correlated with the invasion-stimulatory activity of the pleural fluid. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

「繰り返し」による漢字語彙の定着に －PowerPointを活用した初中級授業の分析－

　The authors define the term kanji capability as the ability to understand the usage of kanji in addition to their shapes, sounds and meanings, and to practically use them as items of vocabulary. In this study, empirical research was conducted in an actual class aimed at teaching students kanji as vocabulary -a process considered difficult based on self-learning alone. In classes, illustrations showing kanji studied on the course were repeatedly displayed to promote learning of their shapes as well as their readings, meanings and usage as vocabulary. Microsoft PowerPoint (PPT) was used to enhance student comprehension and visual learning. The PPT materials were designed to increase the frequency of repetition not only by re-displaying previously learned kanji but also by pre-introducing new vocabulary to be covered in future classes. In this study, analysis focused on the learning of kanji shapes as well as their readings and meanings as elements of vocabulary. 　The analysis revealed a moderate correlation between the number of kanji vocabulary items presented in illustrations and the quality of end-of-term exam results for reading, but a low correlation for writing. This illustrates a certain level of effectiveness in learning kanji readings and meanings in addition to their shapes based on repeated display of illustrations