The effects of activity-related contexts on individual sound exposures: A time–geographic approach to soundscape studies

2020 ◽  
pp. 239980832096524
Author(s):  
Lirong Kou ◽  
Mei-Po Kwan ◽  
Yanwei Chai
Keyword(s):  
Global Positioning System ◽  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Context Aware ◽  
Noise Mitigation ◽  
Sound Levels ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Soundscape Studies ◽  
Recorded Activity

Noise is an ever-growing problem in cities. Conventional noise mitigation approaches may not necessarily control noise pollution, since whether a sound is perceived as noise is largely influenced by its specific contexts. Based on an activity-centric framework, this study examines the effects of activity-related contexts and measured sound levels based on individuals’ sound evaluations as they undertake daily activities at different geographic locations and times. Data for the study were collected from 33 participants in Chicago (USA) using Global Positioning System-equipped mobile phones, portable sound sensors, and activity diaries. Multilevel logistic modeling was used to examine the relationships among measured sound levels, sound evaluations, and activity-related contexts for each recorded activity of the participants. The results indicate that activity-related contexts significantly influence individuals’ sound evaluations as they perform their daily activities. When activity-related contexts are taken into account, the measured sound levels that individuals experienced when performing an activity are no longer significant in influencing their sound evaluations. These results support the notion that sound is not only a physical feature but also a socio-psychological construct. It is crucial to adopt a human-centric and context-aware approach in urban planning through understanding the circumstances in which a sound is perceived as noise. Such an approach would help improve sound-related urban environments and construct livable and healthy cities.

scholarly journals Effect of COVID-19 lockdown on noise pollution levels in an Indian city-A case study of Kanpur

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anirudh Mishra ◽  
Sanhita Das ◽  
Deepesh Singh ◽  
Akhilesh Kumar Maurya
Keyword(s):  
Prolonged Exposure ◽  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Noise Mitigation ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Sound Levels ◽  
Hormonal Dysfunction ◽  
Indian City

Abstract Noise pollution is an emerging environmental threat, prolonged exposure of which can cause annoyance, sleep disturbance, hypertension, psychiatric disorders and also hormonal dysfunction. Among all the sources of noise pollution, the noise generated by road vehicle traffic significantly affects the quality of urban environments. Concerning the recent imposition of COVID-19 societal lockdown, this study attempts to investigate the impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on the changes in noise pollution levels before, during and after lockdown phase in different residential, commercial, industrial and silence zones of the city of Kanpur, India. Although a significant reduction in the noise levels was observed during lockdown, except for commercial zone all other monitoring stations had reported sound levels quite higher than the recommended noise limits set by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India. Results further indicated that prominent improvements in health benefits could be observed in the lockdown period, much better than the pre-lockdown and unlock phase. Several noise mitigation strategies are also proposed, which may indeed pave the way for devising noise control measures in the local and regional level.

scholarly journals Proposition of an attenuating solution for noise pollution caused by telecommunications installations and systems in urban environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (71) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Henrique Trombetta Zannin ◽  
Erik de Lima Andrade
Keyword(s):  
Cooling System ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
National Standard ◽  
Maximum Speed ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Sound Levels ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Noise Measurements

This study evaluates the noise generated by metallic cabinets of telecommunications transmission stations, before and after the implementation of a sound attenuator. The first step consisted of installing the attenuating system, which consisted of a glass wool plate on top of a metal cabinet. Then, we compared the results with a cabinet without the installation of the system. The speeds of the cooling system of the cabinets were the average and maximum. Noise measurements followed the guidelines of NBR 10151, and the acoustic descriptor used was the mean equivalent level (Leq). After verifying the effectiveness of the installation of the system in sound attenuation, several cabinets were adapted in installations located in two cities in southern Brazil. One installation was located in a residential area, with houses on its surroundings, and the other on top of a residential building. The study showed that the attenuating system was effective in reducing the noise generated by the cabinets, both at average and at maximum speed, in both locations. Although the final sound levels did not reach those recommended by the national standard NBR 10151, of acoustic comfort for communities, residents close to the facilities reported an improvement in the local acoustic environment.

scholarly journals Impact of Multipath GPS Signal Spreading on Precision of Us er Localization

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-70
Author(s):  
Jozef Chrastina ◽  
Tomáš Polonec ◽  
Ivan Janoško ◽  
Juraj Tulík
Keyword(s):  
Global Positioning System ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Positioning System ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Multipath Signal ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Navigation Errors ◽  
Gps Device

Abstract This paper focuses on measuring the inaccuracy of localization using a global positioning system. It describes the types and causes of navigation errors as well as the impact of multipath signal spreading on determining the GPS location. The aim of the experiment is to quantify the degree of influence of GPS multipath signal spreading in urban environments compared with measurements in the open air. During the experiment, we have used a Holux M-1000C GPS device in the DGPS / SBAS mode using the EGNOS technology.

scholarly journals Wireless Sensor Networks for Long-Term Monitoring of Urban Noise

Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 3161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney Peckens ◽  
Cédric Porter ◽  
Taylor Rink
Keyword(s):  
Wireless Sensor Networks ◽  
Sensor Networks ◽  
Data Processing ◽  
Data Transmission ◽  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Sound Level ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Wireless Sensor ◽  
Handheld Devices ◽  
Sound Levels

Noise pollution in urban environments is becoming increasingly common and it has potential to negatively impact people’s health and decrease overall productivity. In order to alleviate these effects, it is important to better quantify noise patterns and levels through data collection and analysis. Wireless sensor networks offer a method for achieving this with a higher level of granularity than traditional handheld devices. In this study, a wireless sensing unit (WSU) was developed that possesses the same functionality as a handheld sound level meter. The WSU is comprised of a microcontroller unit that enables on-board computations, a wireless transceiver that uses Zigbee protocol for data transmission, and an external peripheral board that houses the microphone transducer. The WSU utilizes on-board data processing techniques to monitor noise by computing equivalent continuous sound levels, LeqT, which effectively minimizes data transmission and increases the overall longevity of the node. Strategies are also employed to ensure real-time functionality is maintained on the sensing unit, with a focus on preventing bottlenecks between data acquisition, data processing, and wireless transmission. Four units were deployed in two weeks field validation test and were shown to be capable of monitoring noise for extended periods of time.

scholarly journals Identifying the Daily Activity Spaces of Older Adults Living in a High-Density Urban Area: A Study Using the Smartphone-Based Global Positioning System Trajectory in Shanghai

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5003
Author(s):  
Jiatian Bu ◽  
Jie Yin ◽  
Yifan Yu ◽  
Ye Zhan
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Urban Area ◽  
Global Positioning System ◽  
High Density ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Objective Measures ◽  
Positioning System ◽  
Activity Spaces ◽  
Public Facilities ◽  
Global Positioning

The characteristics of the built environment and the configuration of public facilities can affect the health and well-being of older adults. Recognizing the range of daily activities and understanding the utilization of public facilities among older adults has become essential in planning age-friendly communities. However, traditional methods are unable to provide large-scale objective measures of older adults’ travel behaviors. To address this issue, we used the smartphone-based global positioning system (GPS) trajectory to explore the activity spaces of 76 older adults in a high-density urban community in Shanghai for 102 consecutive days. We found that activity spaces are centered around older adults’ living communities, with 46.3% within a 1.5 km distance. The older adults’ daily activities are within a 15 min walking distance, and accessibility is the most important factor when making a travel choice to parks and public facilities. We also found that the travel range and spatial distribution of points of interest are different between age and gender groups. In addition, we found that using a concave hull with Alpha shape algorithm is more applicable and robust than the traditional convex hull algorithm. This is a unique case study in a high-density urban area with objective measures for assessing the activity spaces of older adults, thus providing empirical evidence for promoting healthy aging in cities.

GPS and GSM Based Tracking System for Objects Moving over Wide Geographical Areas

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatima Ameen ◽  
Ziad Mohammed ◽  
Abdulrahman Siddiq
Keyword(s):  
Global Positioning System ◽  
Mobile Communications ◽  
Moving Objects ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Tracking Systems ◽  
Acceptable Result ◽  
Internet Service ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Tracking Objects

Tracking systems of moving objects provide a useful means to better control, manage and secure them. Tracking systems are used in different scales of applications such as indoors, outdoors and even used to track vehicles, ships and air planes moving over the globe. This paper presents the design and implementation of a system for tracking objects moving over a wide geographical area. The system depends on the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technologies without requiring the Internet service. The implemented system uses the freely available GPS service to determine the position of the moving objects. The tests of the implemented system in different regions and conditions show that the maximum uncertainty in the obtained positions is a circle with radius of about 16 m, which is an acceptable result for tracking the movement of objects in wide and open environments.

Aplikasi Pemosisi Lokal Berbasis Android Dengan Menggunakan GPS

INTI TALAFA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaman Khaeruzzaman
Keyword(s):  
Global Positioning System ◽  
Positioning System ◽  
Database Server ◽  
Global Positioning

Seiring dengan pesatnya kemajuan teknologi saat ini, kebutuhan manusia menjadi lebih beragam, termasuk kebutuhan akan informasi. Tidak hanya media informasinya yang semakin beragam, jenis informasi yang dibutuhkan juga semakin beragam, salah satunya adalah kebutuhan informasi akan posisi kita terhadap lingkungan sekitar. Untuk memenuhi kebutuhan itu sebuah sistem pemosisi diciptakan. Sistem pemosisi yang banyak digunakan saat ini cenderung berfokus pada lingkup ruang yang besar (global) padahal, dalam lingkup ruang yang lebih kecil (lokal) sebuah sistem pemosisi juga diperlukan, seperti di ruang-ruang terbuka umum (taman atau kebun), ataupun dalam sebuah bangunan. Sistem pemosisi lokal yang ada saat ini sering kali membutuhkan infrastruktur yang mahal dalam pembangunannya. Aplikasi Pemosisi Lokal Berbasis Android dengan Menggunakan GPS ini adalah sebuah aplikasi yang dibangun untuk memenuhi kebutuhan pengguna akan informasi lokasi dan posisi mereka terhadap lingkungan di sekitarnya dalam lingkup ruang yang lebih kecil (lokal) dengan memanfaatkan perangkat GPS (Global Positioning System) yang telah tertanam dalam perangkat smartphone Android agar infrastruktur yang dibutuhkan lebih efisien. Dalam implementasinya, Aplikasi Pemosisi Lokal ini bertindak sebagai klien dengan dukungan sebuah Database Server yang berfungsi sebagai media penyimpanan data serta sumber referensi informasi yang dapat diakses melalui jaringan internet sehingga tercipta sebuah sistem yang terintegrasi secara global. Kata kunci: aplikasi, informasi, pemosisi, GPS.

The Distribution of Hospitality Services in Uyo Urban, Nigeria

2018 ◽  
pp. 137-150
Author(s):  
Violet Bassey Eneyo
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Global Positioning System ◽  
Central Area ◽  
Positioning System ◽  
Nearest Neighbour ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Neighbour Analysis

This paper examines the distribution of hospitality services in Uyo Urban, Nigeria. GIS method was the primary tool used for data collection. A global positioning system (GPS) Garmin 60 model was used in tracking the location of 102 hospitality services in the study area. One hypothesis was stated and tested using the nearest neighbour analysis. The finding shows evidence of clustering of the various hospitality services. The tested hypothesis further indicated that hospitality services clustered in areas that guarantee a sustainable level of patronage to maximize profit. Thus, the hospitality services clustered in selected streets in the metropolis while limited numbers were found outside the city’s central area.

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