scholarly journals Wearable Sensors for Human Environmental Exposure in Urban Settings

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolin Helbig ◽  
Maximilian Ueberham ◽  
Anna Maria Becker ◽  
Heike Marquart ◽  
Uwe Schlink
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Noise ◽  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Urban Structure ◽  
Protective Behavior ◽  
Urban Settings ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Smart Technologies ◽  
Study Designs

AbstractGlobal population growth, urbanization, and climate change worsen the immediate environment of many individuals. Elevated concentrations of air pollutants, higher levels of acoustic noise, and more heat days, as well as increasingly complex mixtures of pollutants pose health risks for urban inhabitants. There is a growing awareness of the need to record personal environmental conditions (“the human exposome”) and to study options and implications of adaptive and protective behavior of individuals. The vast progress in smart technologies created wearable sensors that record environmental as well as spatio-temporal data while accompanying a person. Wearable sensing has two aspects: firstly, the exposure of an individual is recorded, and secondly, individuals act as explorers of the urban area. A literature review was undertaken using scientific literature databases with the objective to illustrate the state-of-the-art of person-based environmental sensing in urban settings. We give an overview of the study designs, highlight and compare limitations as well as results, and present the results of a keyword analysis. We identify current trends in the field, suggest possible future advancements, and lay out take-home messages for the readers. There is a trend towards studies that involve various environmental parameters and it is becoming increasingly important to identify and quantify the influence of various conditions (e.g., weather, urban structure, travel mode) on people’s exposure.

scholarly journals Micro-Landscape Dependent Changes in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Community Structure

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 5297
Author(s):  
Stavros D. Veresoglou ◽  
Leonie Grünfeld ◽  
Magkdi Mola
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Root Colonization ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Fungal Community Structure ◽  
High Connectivity ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal ◽  
Colonization Rates

The roots of most plants host diverse assemblages of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which benefit the plant hosts in diverse ways. Even though we understand that such AMF assemblages are non-random, we do not fully appreciate whether and how environmental settings can make them more or less predictable in time and space. Here we present results from three controlled experiments, where we manipulated two environmental parameters, habitat connectance and habitat quality, to address the degree to which plant roots in archipelagos of high connectivity and invariable habitats are colonized with (i) less diverse and (ii) easier to predict AMF assemblages. We observed no differences in diversity across our manipulations. We show, however, that mixing habitats and varying connectivity render AMF assemblages less predictable, which we could only detect within and not between our experimental units. We also demonstrate that none of our manipulations favoured any specific AMF taxa. We present here evidence that the community structure of AMF is less responsive to spatio-temporal manipulations than root colonization rates which is a facet of the symbiosis which we currently poorly understand.

scholarly journals Unsupervised Hierarchical Clustering Approach for Tourism Market Segmentation Based on Crowdsourced Mobile Phone Data

Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 2972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Rodríguez ◽  
Ivana Semanjski ◽  
Sidharta Gautama ◽  
Nico Van de Weghe ◽  
Daniel Ochoa
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Clustering ◽  
Market Segmentation ◽  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Mobile Phone Data ◽  
Mobility Data ◽  
Tourism Management ◽  
Clustering Approach ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Understanding tourism related behavior and traveling patterns is an essential element of transportation system planning and tourism management at tourism destinations. Traditionally, tourism market segmentation is conducted to recognize tourist’s profiles for which personalized services can be provided. Today, the availability of wearable sensors, such as smartphones, holds the potential to tackle data collection problems of paper-based surveys and deliver relevant mobility data in a timely and cost-effective way. In this paper, we develop and implement a hierarchical clustering approach for smartphone geo-localized data to detect meaningful tourism related market segments. For these segments, we provide detailed insights into their characteristics and related mobility behavior. The applicability of the proposed approach is demonstrated on a use case in the Province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. We collected data from 1505 users during five months using the Zeeland app. The proposed approach resulted in two major clusters and four sub-clusters which we were able to interpret based on their spatio-temporal patterns and the recurrence of their visiting patterns to the region.

scholarly journals Identification and Removal of Non-acoustic Noise in Towed Array Sonar Using F-Κ Transform for Enhanced Torpedo Detection

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Vibration Isolation ◽  
Acoustic Noise ◽  
Detection System ◽  
Mechanical Vibration ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Acoustic Energy ◽  
Noise Sources ◽  
Towed Array ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Towed Arrays

Low frequency passive towed array sonar is an essential component in a torpedo detection system for surface ships. Compact towed arrays are used for torpedo detection and they will be towed at higher towing speeds compared to conventional towed array sonars used for surveillance. Presence of non-acoustic noise in towed array sensors at higher towing speeds degrades torpedo detection capability at lower frequencies. High wavenumber mechanical vibrations are induced in the array by vortex shedding associated with hydrodynamic flow over the array body and cable scope. These vibrations are known to couple into the hydrophone array as nonacoustic noise sources and can impair acoustic detection performance, particularly in the forward end fire direction. Lengthy mechanical vibration isolation modules can isolate vibration induced noise in towed arrays, but this is not recommended in a towed array which is towed at high speeds as it will increase the drag and system complexity. An algorithm for decomposing acoustic and non-acoustic components of signals received at sensor level using well known frequency-wavenumber transform (F-K transform) is presented here. Frequency-wavenumber diagrams can be used for differentiating between acoustic and non-acoustic signals. An area of V shape is identified within the F-K spectrum where acoustic energy is confined. Energy outside this V will highlight non-acoustic energy. Enhanced simultaneous spatio-temporal and spatio-amplitude detection is possible with this algorithm. Performance of this algorithm is validated through simulation and experimental data.

scholarly journals Tapered Optical Fibre Sensors: Current Trends and Future Perspectives

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 2294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergiy Korposh ◽  
Stephen James ◽  
Seung-Woo Lee ◽  
Ralph Tatam
Keyword(s):  
Optical Fibre ◽  
Evanescent Wave ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Optical Fibres ◽  
Future Perspectives ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Sensing Platform ◽  
Sensing Platforms

The development of reliable, affordable and efficient sensors is a key step in providing tools for efficient monitoring of critical environmental parameters. This review focuses on the use of tapered optical fibres as an environmental sensing platform. Tapered fibres allow access to the evanescent wave of the propagating mode, which can be exploited to facilitate chemical sensing by spectroscopic evaluation of the medium surrounding the optical fibre, by measurement of the refractive index of the medium, or by coupling to other waveguides formed of chemically sensitive materials. In addition, the reduced diameter of the tapered section of the optical fibre can offer benefits when measuring physical parameters such as strain and temperature. A review of the basic sensing platforms implemented using tapered optical fibres and their application for development of fibre-optic physical, chemical and bio-sensors is presented.

scholarly journals Urban Syntax

2018 ◽  
pp. 66-70
Author(s):  
Dmitry A. Kolevatykh
Keyword(s):  
Urban Development ◽  
Language Model ◽  
Urban Structure ◽  
Urban Model ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Urban Language ◽  
Model Formation ◽  
The City

The article puts forward the hypothesis of the possible existence of direct and reverse communication between the subject of "city resident" and the object of "urban structure". The features of "urban Language" are considered. The theme of everyday "urban slang" development through the spatial compilation of the city forms is also raised. Some chronological features of the urban Language model formation (archaism and neologism in the context of "urban Language") are revealed. The author introduced new terms describing the phenomena of archetypaLization of urban syntactic forms. The author stresses that the city shouLd be perceived as a deveLoping LinguaL-urban model, a professionaL anaLysis of which provides an opportunity to unveiL current trends in urban development This kind of monitoring wiLL aLLow architects to design reLevant modeLs regarding the existing status of urban deveLopment.

scholarly journals Automobilisering som mobilitetsparadigme - refleksioner over biler, bilister og deres spatiotemporaliteter

2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-22
Author(s):  
Jörg Beckmann
Keyword(s):  
Urban Structure ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
Temporal Structures ◽  
Physical Limitations ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Third Dimension ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Almost All

Automobilization as mobility paradigm. Reflections on cars, drivers and spatio-temporalities This article attempts to provide a theoretical contribution to ‘traffic and mobility sociology’. The article discusses three central dimensions of automobilization. The first is automobilization’s spatio-temporal context. Automobilization has opened the urban structure and liberated the individual from its physical limitations, while it has created a more dangerous and spread out structure, which constantly forces both humans and commodities to keep moving. The second dimension is the subject of automobilization. While the car has liberated the modern individual from spatio-temporal structures, it has embedded its users into a more mobile life form. The third dimension is the vehicles themselves. Cars are surprisingly alike in their structure, however they take on human characteristics. The article argues that automobilization has become reflexive. Under reflexive automobilization almost all ‘autosubjects’ are engaged in defining, interpreting and responding to the car’s environmental threats, not necessarily in a self-critical fashion. Rather their responses often merely lead to a reproduction of traditional ‘auto-spaces’.

scholarly journals HETEROTOPIA WORK. Correlation between the domestic built environment and home offices during COVID-19 confinement

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 614-631
Author(s):  
Maria Jose Araya Leon ◽  
Ainoa Abella ◽  
Ricardo Guasch ◽  
Alberto T. Estévez ◽  
Javier Peña
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Creative Solutions ◽  
New Locations ◽  
Physical Barriers ◽  
Domestic Setting

The new COVID-19 context has transported work to a domestic setting. These new locations, heterotopic, do not always adequately respond to user needs.This paper explores the relationship between the domestic built environment and certain elements that shape it, the perception, emotional state and productivity of the users.A pilot case study was carried out with 11 volunteers who evaluated their home offices for seven work days using physical environment tools, two tests -fixed data and daily evaluation-. Also, environmental parameters of the territory were monitored.Among the main findings, we observed that the perception of size does not relate to actual size; a balcony is associated with happiness and calm. We have verified how biophilic elements promote well-being. Happiness and calm are related to hight and low levels of lux. There is a tendency of happiness associated with collaborative tasks, and calm with individual ones. This article opens up a path for exploratory research on resilient situations in which physical barriers force people to seek creative solutions and offers tools to empower users. Current trends in data-driven design and teleworking support research proposals like this one, with a focus on well-being, productivity.

scholarly journals Urban Anthropology

2017 ◽  
pp. 11-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuliana B. Prato ◽  
Italo Pardo
Keyword(s):  
Field Research ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Urban Settings ◽  
Urban Research ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Tribal Societies ◽  
Village Communities ◽  
The City ◽  
Industrial Societies

Established academic disciplinary distinctions led early anthropologists to study tribal societies, or village communities, while ignoring the city as a field of research. Thus, urban research became established in some academic disciplines, particularly sociology, but struggled to achieve such a status in anthropology. Over the years, historical events and geo-political changes have stimulated anthropologists to address processes of urbanization in developing countries; yet, urban research in western industrial societies continued to be left out of the mainstream disciplinary agenda. In this chapter we examine major debates in the development of this sub-discipline and discuss the complex methodological and theoretical challenges posed by field-research in urban settings, clearly identifying the significance of the anthropological paradigm in urban research and its centrality both to mainstream academic debates and to the broader society. Today an increasing number of anthropologists carry out research in cities. With half of humanity already living in towns and cities, growing to two-thirds in the next 50 years, there is no denying that research in urban settings is topical and needed as western and non-western society is fast becoming urban or mega-urban. Having outlined the background to current trends in this field of research, the discussion builds towards an assessment of the contribution that empirically-based anthropological analysis can make to our understanding of our increasingly urban world.

scholarly journals BLENDING OF OLD AND NEW APPROACHES IN GEOGRAPHICAL EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-60
Author(s):  
Eduard Hofmann ◽  
Hana Svobodová
Keyword(s):  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Rural Landscape ◽  
Urban Structure ◽  
Geographical Education ◽  
City Environment ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Natural Science Education ◽  
The City

Field work often takes place in the countryside and the city environment is neglected, although we usually move there more often. Natural science education should, however, include not only the evaluation of the rural landscape, but also the city, because we can find there an explanation for a number of physical-geographical but also socioeconomic phenomena and their spatio-temporal evolution. Therefore, the authors focused on the goal to use urban landscape as a "geography textbook". Urban landscape serves in this case as a didactic image. A study about significant viewpoints in Brno and its surroundings served as a basis for the experiment in which pupils and students had to sketch a view from these viewpoints and authors evaluated how they are able to perceive the urban landscape, locate the significant elements in an urban structure, identify their functions and relations among them. This concept can be understood as a use of nonverbal elements in teaching. The results of this experiment and namely the comparison of sketches produced by pupils and university students are described in the paper which also describes the blending of old and new approaches in geographical education. Key words: didactic image, geographical education, panoramic sketch, urban landscape.

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