scholarly journals Assessing the micro-scale environment using Google Street View: the Virtual Systematic Tool for Evaluating Pedestrian Streetscapes (Virtual-STEPS)

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeleine Steinmetz-Wood ◽  
Kabisha Velauthapillai ◽  
Grace O’Brien ◽  
Nancy A. Ross
Keyword(s):  
Travel Time ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Active Living ◽  
Substantial Agreement ◽  
Perfect Agreement ◽  
Rater Reliability ◽  
Google Street View ◽  
Micro Scale ◽  
Street View ◽  
Cost Effective Method

Abstract Background Altering micro-scale features of neighborhood walkability (e.g., benches, sidewalks, and cues of social disorganization or crime) could be a relatively cost-effective method of creating environments that are conducive to active living. Traditionally, measuring the micro-scale environment has required researchers to perform observational audits. Technological advances have led to the development of virtual audits as alternatives to observational field audits with the enviable properties of cost-efficiency from elimination of travel time and increased safety for auditors. This study examined the reliability of the Virtual Systematic Tool for Evaluating Pedestrian Streetscapes (Virtual-STEPS), a Google Street View-based auditing tool specifically designed to remotely assess micro-scale characteristics of the built environment. Methods We created Virtual-STEPS, a tool with 40 items categorized into 6 domains (pedestrian infrastructure, traffic calming and streets, building characteristics, bicycling infrastructure, transit, and aesthetics). Items were selected based on their past abilities to predict active living and on their feasibility for a virtual auditing tool. Two raters performed virtual and field audits of street segments in Montreal neighborhoods stratified by the Walkscore that was used to determine the ‘walking-friendliness’ of a neighborhood. The reliability between virtual and field audits (n = 40), as well as inter-rater reliability (n = 60) were assessed using percent agreement, Cohen’s Kappa statistic, and the Intra-class Correlation Coefficient. Results Virtual audits and field audits (excluding travel time) took similar amounts of time to perform (9.8 versus 8.2 min). Percentage agreement between virtual and field audits, and for inter-rater agreement was 80% or more for the majority of items included in the Virtual-STEPS tool. There was high reliability between virtual and field audits with Kappa and ICC statistics indicating that 20 out of 40 (50.0%) items had almost perfect agreement and 13 (32.5%) items had substantial agreement. Inter-rater reliability was also high with 17 items (42.5%) with almost perfect agreement and 11 (27.5%) items with substantial agreement. Conclusions Virtual-STEPS is a reliable tool. Tools that measure the micro-scale environment are important because changing this environment could be a relatively cost-effective method of creating environments that are conducive to active living.

scholarly journals Systematic social observation of children’s neighborhoods using Google Street View: a reliable and cost-effective method

2012 ◽  
Vol 53 (10) ◽  
pp. 1009-1017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candice L. Odgers ◽  
Avshalom Caspi ◽  
Christopher J. Bates ◽  
Robert J. Sampson ◽  
Terrie E. Moffitt
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effective ◽  
Google Street View ◽  
Street View ◽  
Cost Effective Method ◽  
Systematic Social Observation ◽  
Social Observation

scholarly journals Species Distribution 2.0: An Accurate Time- and Cost-Effective Method of Prospection Using Street View Imagery

PLoS ONE ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. e0146899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Hardion ◽  
Agathe Leriche ◽  
Eugénie Schwoertzig ◽  
Alexandre Millon
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Street View ◽  
Cost Effective Method

scholarly journals Using Google Street View to Audit the Built Environment: Inter-rater Reliability Results

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (S1) ◽  
pp. 108-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl M. Kelly ◽  
Jeffrey S. Wilson ◽  
Elizabeth A. Baker ◽  
Douglas K. Miller ◽  
Mario Schootman
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Rater Reliability ◽  
Google Street View ◽  
Street View

Validity and reliability of the assessment and diagnosis of musculoskeletal elbow disorders using telerehabilitation

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 413-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Lade ◽  
Stephanie McKenzie ◽  
Leah Steele ◽  
Trevor G Russell
Keyword(s):  
Physical Examination ◽  
Elbow Joint ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Single Session ◽  
Substantial Agreement ◽  
Perfect Agreement ◽  
Rater Reliability ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Examination Methods

We examined the validity and reliability of a physiotherapy examination of the elbow, using telerehabilitation. The patho-anatomical diagnoses, systems diagnosis and physical examination findings of face-to-face physiotherapy examinations were compared with telerehabilitation examinations. Ten participants attended a single session, during which they were interviewed, a face-to-face physical examination was performed and a remote physical examination was conducted, guided by an examiner at a different location via a telerehabilitation system. Conventional face-to-face physiotherapy physical examination test results, diagnoses and systems diagnoses were compared to those produced by an examiner using the telerehabiliation system. There was substantial agreement for systems diagnosis (73%; P = 0.013) for validity and almost perfect agreement for intra-rater reliability (90%; P = 0.001). The inter-rater reliability had a weaker and non-significant agreement (64%; P = 0.11). Physical examination data demonstrated >68% agreement across all three datasets, between the examination methods. Performing a telerehabilitation physical examination to determine a musculoskeletal diagnosis of the elbow joint complex is both valid and reliable.

scholarly journals Virtual audits of the urban streetscape: comparing the inter-rater reliability of GigaPan® to Google Street View

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine N. Bromm ◽  
Ian-Marshall Lang ◽  
Erica E. Twardzik ◽  
Cathy L. Antonakos ◽  
Tamara Dubowitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rater Reliability ◽  
Google Street View ◽  
Street View

scholarly journals Comparing the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index with the Google Street View Measure of Vegetation to Assess Associations between Greenness, Walkability, Recreational Physical Activity, and Health in Ottawa, Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 1719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul J. Villeneuve ◽  
Renate L. Ysseldyk ◽  
Ariel Root ◽  
Sarah Ambrose ◽  
Jason DiMuzio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Physical Activities ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Active Living ◽  
Recreational Physical Activity ◽  
Recreational Activities ◽  
Google Street View ◽  
Street View

The manner in which features of the built environment, such as walkability and greenness, impact participation in recreational activities and health are complex. We analyzed survey data provided by 282 Ottawa adults in 2016. The survey collected information on participation in recreational physical activities by season, and whether these activities were performed within participants’ neighbourhoods. The SF-12 instrument was used to characterize their overall mental and physical health. Measures of active living environment, and the satellite derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Google Street View (GSV) greenness indices were assigned to participants’ residential addresses. Logistic regression and least squares regression were used to characterize associations between these measures and recreational physical activity, and self-reported health. The NDVI was not associated with participation in recreational activities in either the winter or summer, or physical or mental health. In contrast, the GSV was positively associated with participation in recreational activities during the summer. Specifically, those in the highest quartile spent, on average, 5.4 more hours weekly on recreational physical activities relative to those in the lowest quartile (p = 0.01). Active living environments were associated with increased utilitarian walking, and reduced reliance on use of motor vehicles. Our findings provide support for the hypothesis that neighbourhood greenness may play an important role in promoting participation in recreational physical activity during the summer.

CAD Of Anticorrosive Protection Of Steel Structures

2019 ◽  
pp. 18-23
Keyword(s):  
Protective Coating ◽  
Computer Aided Design ◽  
Steel Structures ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Computational Tool ◽  
Protection Method ◽  
Cost Effective Method ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Aided Design

The choice of cost-effective method of anticorrosive protection of steel structures is an urgent and time consuming task, considering the significant number of protection ways, differing from each other in the complex of technological, physical, chemical and economic characteristics. To reduce the complexity of solving this problem, the author proposes a computational tool that can be considered as a subsystem of computer-aided design and used at the stage of variant and detailed design of steel structures. As a criterion of the effectiveness of the anti-corrosion protection method, the cost of the protective coating during the service life is accepted. The analysis of existing methods of steel protection against corrosion is performed, the possibility of their use for the protection of the most common steel structures is established, as well as the estimated period of effective operation of the coating. The developed computational tool makes it possible to choose the best method of protection of steel structures against corrosion, taking into account the operating conditions of the protected structure and the possibility of using a protective coating.

Monitoring effluent quality in hypertrophic wastewater reservoirs using remote sensing

1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 23-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Dor ◽  
N. Ben-Yosef
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Operational Parameters ◽  
Effluent Quality ◽  
Optical Images ◽  
Routine Monitoring ◽  
Cost Effective Method ◽  
Wastewater Quality

About one hundred and fifty wastewater reservoirs store effluents for irrigation in Israel. Effluent qualities differ according to the inflowing wastewater quality, the degree of pretreatment and the operational parameters. Certain aspects of water quality like concentration of organic matter, suspended solids and chlorophyll are significantly correlated with the water column transparency and colour. Accordingly optical images of the reservoirs obtained from the SPOT satellite demonstrate pronounced differences correlated with the water quality. The analysis of satellite multispectral images is based on a theoretical model. The model calculates, using the radiation transfer equation, the volume reflectance of the water body. Satellite images of 99 reservoirs were analyzed in the chromacity space in order to classify them according to water quality. Principal Component Analysis backed by the theoretical model increases the method sensitivity. Further elaboration of this approach will lead to the establishment of a time and cost effective method for the routine monitoring of these hypertrophic wastewater reservoirs.

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