Posted on 05/28/2018 5:21:09 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
... Japanese rail system occasionally becomes the focus of international headlines—as on May 11, when West Japan Railways issued a florid apology after one of its commuter trains left the station 25 seconds early....
The orderliness of society is taken as a given—Japanese commuters know how to queue on an escalator and can easily navigate the confusing, but wide-open, spaces of Tokyo’s rail stations without assistance. This allows rail operators to instead focus on deeper psychological manipulation.
Operating on the theory that exposure to blue light has a calming effect on one’s mood, rail stations in Japan began installing these LED panels as a suicide-prevention measure in 2009.
Commuting during rush hour in Japan is not for the faint of heart. The trains are jam-packed at as much as 200 percent capacity
... train stations deploy ultrasonic deterrents—small, unobtrusive devices that emit a high-frequency tone. .. generally only be heard by those under the age of 25
(Excerpt) Read more at citylab.com ...
>>Operating on the theory that exposure to blue light has a calming effect on one’s mood, rail stations in Japan began installing these LED panels as a suicide-prevention measure in 2009.
I find blue cast LED lights to be psychologically cold and hard, not “calming” or “suicide avoidance”.
>>When on a trip to Japan, I saw a bunch of first or second
>>graders on a train in Tokyo. No adults, but they knew how to
>>get on the train and where to get off to get to school.
Why Are Little Kids in Japan So Independent?
SELENA HOY, SEPT 2015
It’s a common sight on Japanese mass transit: children troop through train cars, singly or in small groups, looking for seats.
They wear knee socks, polished patent leather shoes, and plaid jumpers, with wide-brimmed hats fastened under the chin and train passes pinned to their backpacks. The kids are as young as six or seven, on their way to and from school, and there is nary a guardian in sight.
Parents in Japan regularly send their kids out into the world at a very young age. A popular television show called Hajimete no Otsukai, or My First Errand, features children as young as two or three being sent out to do a task for their family.
As they tentatively make their way to the greengrocer or bakery, their progress is secretly filmed by a camera crew. The show has been running for more than 25 years.
Kaito, a 12-year-old in Tokyo, has been riding the train by himself between the homes of his parents, who share his custody, since he was nine. “At first I was a little worried,” he admits, “whether I could ride the train alone. But only a little worried.”
Now, he says, it’s easy. His parents were apprehensive at first, too, but they went ahead because they felt he was old enough, and lots of other kids were doing it safely.
“Honestly, what I remember thinking at the time is, the trains are safe and on time and easy to navigate, and he’s a smart kid,” Kaito’s stepmother says. (His parents asked not to publish his last name and their names for the sake of privacy.)
“I took the trains on my own when I was younger than him in Tokyo,” his stepmother recalls. “We didn’t have cell phones back in my day, but I still managed to go from point A to point B on the train. If he gets lost, he can call us.” ...”
https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2015/09/why-are-little-kids-in-japan-so-independent/407590/
When I was five my Dad put me on the train to go visit my Aunt Helen.
She lived in Hawaii at the time.
As for blue indoor lighting, I guess that can be pretty soothing as well.
FWIW I rode the P.E. (the Red Car) between Long Beach and L.A. when I was maybe 10 or 12, by myself in the 50s. Perfectly safe back in those days.
From some of the comments above it sounds more like every Japanese adult is a guardian.
http://www.archlighting.com/technology/blue-light-hazard-and-leds-fact-or-fiction_o
Blue-Light Hazard and LEDs: Fact or Fiction?
The advent of solid-state lighting in everyday applications has renewed research interest in whether its spectral profile can lead to increased health risks.
...Typical white LEDs consist of gallium nitride (GaN) and blue dye and a phosphor coating that converts a portion of the blue light into white. These phosphor-coated white LEDs can be fabricated with customized spectral profiles, but the process necessitates a spike in blue radiant energy. The phosphors produce a second, broader, and, in some cases, higher peak between 550 and 650 nanometers.
LEDs with correlated color temperatures (CCTs) topping 3000K are often singled out for their high blue content. In June, for example, the American Medical Association released a report cautioning against the use of high-CCT LEDs in outdoor applications, citing health concerns such as melatonin suppression and circadian disruption—which are technically distinct from blue-light hazard. Although CCT does correlate with a source’s blue-light content, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) states in its 2013 “Optical Safety of LEDs” fact sheet that the proportion of blue emissions in the spectrum “is not significantly higher for LEDs than it is for any other light source at the same CCT.”
The brightness of LEDs has also raised concerns. As a point source, the diodes emit a concentrated directional light that can be unpleasant to view directly. Still, their output is less than what the DOE cites as a risk for blue-light hazard: a luminance exceeding 4 gigacandela per square meter, and an illuminance exceeding 400,000 lux. Moreover, in interior lighting applications, the sources are often diffused, mitigating any discomfort...
...Considerable research has focused on the impact of short-wavelength light on the eye’s functions unrelated to vision, such as melatonin and circadian regulation. Although light exposure in general can inhibit the release of melatonin, the hormone that signals to the body the onset of darkness or night, studies have shown that blue light seems to exert a more powerful effect. For example, boosting light levels and color temperature for 30 to 45 minutes has helped astronauts feel more awake, says Stan Walerczyk, principal of San Francisco–based Lighting Wizards, an energy-efficiency consultancy.
Other evidence suggests that nocturnal use of LED-lit mobile devices and computer displays, which emit a bluish cast, can delay sleep. Walerczyk recommends avoiding “blue light one to two hours before you go to bed.” For those who can’t stay away from their screens, free apps such as F.lux will increase and decrease the blue component in an electronic display according to the time of day, he says. Apple also offers a “night shift” option in its mobile devices that casts a hue atop screens during evening hours.
In outdoor applications, such as street lighting, LEDs with higher amounts of blue light could potentially suppress melatonin production, as the June AMA report alleges. However, the DOE and the LRC, in their responses to the AMA report, note that any conclusions to be drawn need to factor in the amount and duration of light exposure...
LED Streetlights Are Giving Neighborhoods the Blues
Early adopters of LED street lighting are struggling with glare and light pollution
...Lately, lighting companies have introduced LED streetlights with a warmer-hued output, and municipalities have begun to adopt them. Some communities, too, are using smart lighting controls to minimize light pollution. They are welcome changes, but they’re happening none too soon: An estimated 10 percent of all outdoor lighting [PDF] in the United States was switched over to an earlier generation of LEDs, which included those problematic blue-rich varieties, at a potential cost of billions of dollars.
The episode invites a few questions: How did an energy-saving technology that looked so promising wind up irritating so many people? Why has it taken so long for the impacts of blue-rich lighting to become widely known? And why did blue-rich LEDs so captivate municipal lighting engineers long before better options reached the market?...
It's called The Mosquito, it emits a high pitched sound that adults can't hear. I'd play an extremely loud sample to my AP Psych students, I couldn't hear it but they would cover their ears. Business use it to keep teens from loitering.
I've found that classical music works well on most teens, country music works on skateboarders.
I had students use it as a ring tone. I couldn't hear it, but other students would complain about the noise.
You can download any number of frequency generators for your iPhone to test with, then search for “mosquito device loitering” and you will find the companies that manufacture such equipment.
Not the Japanese. That sounds like the behavior of the Chinese tourists we also have to deal with in Tokyo.
At about the same age I regularly took the train by myself from NJ to Connecticut for school holidays and such.
My sister-in-law lives in Japan (married to a Japanese guy) and i’ve been there. There is no groping (Chikan) - definitely not to foreigners. Like portrayals of the USA outside the US, there is a lot of exaggeration and things that are not faced in reality
Start walking around Tokyo and three things you notice immediately:
a) zero diversity
b) beautiful women EVERYwhere
c) the lack of any male-female couples.
Then notice the anti-groping signs, and b) and c) together are even more mind-boggling. Any theories?
A McDonalds near me will play old country and blue grass. Works like a charm although I would prefer classical music.
b) beautiful women EVERYwhere
c) the lack of any male-female couples.
The women in Tokyo aren't interested in the men there, so the only way the men can see any action is to grope.(?)
From some of the comments above it sounds more like every Japanese adult is a guardian.
Assuming they actually do love their children, the reason the parents do this seems obvious enough. They're stupid.
Say that 3 times fast!
Says the man who lives in a country where his own kids aren’t safe playing outside the house.
In the country where I was raised the rule was go out and play, just be home when the streetlights come on.
If you got into mischief, ‘a little birdie’ would tell your mom, and there’d be hell to pay when dad got home.
Are you happy living in a country where you don’t know your ‘little birdie’ neighbors, where no one cares if your children are damaging someone else’s stuff, and there is no working dad coming home in the evening?
You are? Then by all means, do criticize the Japanese...
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