scholarly journals The Feasibility of Information-Entropy-Based Behavioral Analysis for Detecting Environmental Barriers

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (21) ◽  
pp. 11727
Author(s):  
Bogyeong Lee ◽  
Sungjoo Hwang ◽  
Hyunsoo Kim
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Information Entropy ◽  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Grid Cell ◽  
Behavioral Analysis ◽  
Measurement Unit ◽  
Environmental Barriers ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
External Stimuli

The enhancement of physical activity is highly correlated with the conditions of the built environment. Walking is considered to be a fundamental daily physical activity, which requires an appropriate environment. Therefore, the barriers of the built environment should be identified and addressed. Barriers can act as external stimuli for pedestrians, so pedestrians may diversely respond to them. Based on this consideration, this study examines the feasibility of information-entropy-based behavioral analysis for the detection of environmental barriers. The physical responses of pedestrians were collected using an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor in a smartphone. After the acquired data were converted to behavioral probability distributions, the information entropy of each grid cell was calculated. The grid cells whereby the participants indicated that environmental barriers were present yielded relatively high information entropy values. The findings of this study will facilitate the design of more pedestrian-friendly environments and the development of diverse approaches that utilize citizens for monitoring the built environment.

Environmental Barriers

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey J. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Americans With Disabilities Act ◽  
Environmental Barriers ◽  
Social Barriers ◽  
Human Control ◽  
Inclement Weather ◽  
Locker Room ◽  
Exercise Facilities

In addition to individual and social barriers to physical activity (PA), people with impairments also face a physical or built environment that is often not conducive to PA. The purpose of this chapter is to survey the most common, and some idiosyncratic, environmental barriers to PA and protections intended via the Americans with Disabilities Act. While opportunity barriers are often under people’s control, other barriers such as inclement weather are outside of human control. However, sidewalks and wheelchair ramps that are not shoveled free of snow are examples of where uncontrollable and controllable barriers merge. Other examples include transportation barriers: Often entrances to public transportation are inaccessible, and waiting for public transportation and carrying equipment on public transportation are seen as barriers to PA. Ramps too steep for wheelchairs, bathroom and locker room doors too narrow for wheelchairs, no grab bars in showers, lack of lifts into a pool, and pools that are too cold also make it hard for people to use exercise facilities. Other environmental obstacles to PA include a lack of auditory signals at crosswalks, and uneven and unkempt paved walking and jogging paths.

scholarly journals Two-Step k-means Clustering Based Information Entropy for Detecting Environmental Barriers Using Wearable Sensor

2022 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 704
Author(s):  
Bogyeong Lee ◽  
Hyunsoo Kim
Keyword(s):  
Probability Distribution ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Information Entropy ◽  
Continuous Monitoring ◽  
Behavioral Data ◽  
Wearable Sensor ◽  
Environmental Barriers ◽  
Walking Environment ◽  
External Stimuli ◽  
Current Practices

Walking is the most basic means of transportation. Therefore, continuous management of the walking environment is very important. In particular, the identification of environmental barriers that can impede walkability is the first step in improving the pedestrian experience. Current practices for identifying environmental barriers (e.g., expert investigation and survey) are time-consuming and require additional human resources. Hence, we have developed a method to identify environmental barriers based on information entropy considering that every individual behaves differently in the presence of external stimuli. The behavioral data of the gait process were recorded for 64 participants using a wearable sensor. Additionally, the data were classified into seven gait types using two-step k-means clustering. It was observed that the classified gaits create a probability distribution for each location to calculate information entropy. The values of calculated information entropy showed a high correlation in the presence or absence of environmental barriers. The results obtained facilitated the continuous monitoring of environmental barriers generated in a walking environment.

Built environment, physical activity and obesity of adults in Pingshan District, Shenzhen City in Southern China

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Qianqian Dun ◽  
Yiting Duan ◽  
Maozhen Fu ◽  
Hongdao Meng ◽  
Wanglin Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Shenzhen City

scholarly journals Scalable information-theoretic path planning for a rover-helicopter team in uncertain environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 172988142199958
Author(s):  
Larkin Folsom ◽  
Masahiro Ono ◽  
Kyohei Otsu ◽  
Hyoshin Park
Keyword(s):  
Path Planning ◽  
Lower Risk ◽  
Information Gain ◽  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Single Agent ◽  
Uncertain Environments ◽  
Information Theoretic ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Naive Approach

Mission-critical exploration of uncertain environments requires reliable and robust mechanisms for achieving information gain. Typical measures of information gain such as Shannon entropy and KL divergence are unable to distinguish between different bimodal probability distributions or introduce bias toward one mode of a bimodal probability distribution. The use of a standard deviation (SD) metric reduces bias while retaining the ability to distinguish between higher and lower risk distributions. Areas of high SD can be safely explored through observation with an autonomous Mars Helicopter allowing safer and faster path plans for ground-based rovers. First, this study presents a single-agent information-theoretic utility-based path planning method for a highly correlated uncertain environment. Then, an information-theoretic two-stage multiagent rapidly exploring random tree framework is presented, which guides Mars helicopter through regions of high SD to reduce uncertainty for the rover. In a Monte Carlo simulation, we compare our information-theoretic framework with a rover-only approach and a naive approach, in which the helicopter scouts ahead of the rover along its planned path. Finally, the model is demonstrated in a case study on the Jezero region of Mars. Results show that the information-theoretic helicopter improves the travel time for the rover on average when compared with the rover alone or with the helicopter scouting ahead along the rover’s initially planned route.

scholarly journals The Importance of Pedestrian Network Connectivity for Adolescent Health: A Cross-sectional Examination of Associations between Neighbourhood Built Environments and Metabolic Health in the Pacific Islands Families Birth Cohort Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (18) ◽  
pp. 3375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melody Smith ◽  
Vlad Obolonkin ◽  
Lindsay Plank ◽  
Leon Iusitini ◽  
Euan Forsyth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
International Diabetes Federation ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Metabolic Health ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Fat Free Mass ◽  
Metabolic Risk ◽  
Pedestrian Network

The research aim was to investigate associations between objectively-assessed built environment attributes and metabolic risk in adolescents of Pacific Islands ethnicity, and to consider the possible mediating effect of physical activity and sedentary time. Youth (n = 204) undertook a suite of physical assessments including body composition, blood sampling, and blood pressure measurements, and seven day accelerometry. Objective measures of the neighbourhood built environment were generated around individual addresses. Logistic regression and linear modelling were used to assess associations between environment measures and metabolic health, accounting for physical activity behaviours. Higher pedestrian connectivity was associated with an increase in the chance of having any International Diabetes Federation metabolic risk factors for males only. Pedestrian connectivity was related to fat free mass in males in unadjusted analyses only. This study provides evidence for the importance of pedestrian network connectivity for health in adolescent males. Future research is required to expand the limited evidence in neighbourhood environments and adolescent metabolic health.

A Longitudinal Study of Objectively Measured Built Environment as Determinant of Physical Activity in Young Adults: The European Youth Heart Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 909-914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasper Schipperijn ◽  
Mathias Ried-Larsen ◽  
Merete S. Nielsen ◽  
Anneli F. Holdt ◽  
Anders Grøntved ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Environmental Indices ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Objectively Measured ◽  
European Youth

Background:This longitudinal study aimed to examine if a Movability Index (MI), based on objectively measured built environment characteristics, was a determinant for objectively measured physical activity (PA) among young adults.Methods:Data collected from 177 persons participating in the Danish part of the European Youth Hearth Study (EYHS) was used to examine the effect of the built environment on PA. A MI was developed using objectively measured built environment characteristics, and included residential density, recreational facilities, daily destinations and street connectivity.Results:Results showed a positive cross-sectional association between MI and PA. PA decreased from baseline to follow-up. MI increased, primarily due to participants relocating to larger cities. An increase in MI from baseline to follow-up was associated with a reduced decrease in PA for females.Conclusions:Our findings suggest that the built environment is a determinant for PA, especially for females. The found gender differences might suggest the need to develop gender specific environmental indices in future studies. The validity of the measures can be further improved by creating domain specific PA measures as well as domain specific environmental indices and this can potentially reveal more specific built environment determinants for PA.

scholarly journals A Simple Liking Survey Captures Behaviors Associated with Weight Loss in a Worksite Program among Women at Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1338
Author(s):  
Mastaneh Sharafi ◽  
Pouran Faghri ◽  
Tania B. Huedo-Medina ◽  
Valerie B. Duffy
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Diabetes Prevention Program ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Variable Approach ◽  
Average Loss ◽  
Highly Correlated

In a secondary analysis, we assessed the ability of dietary and physical activity surveys to explain variability in weight loss within a worksite-adapted Diabetes Prevention Program. The program involved 58 overweight/obese female employees (average age = 46 ± 11 years SD; average body mass index = 34.7 ± 7.0 kg/m2 SD) of four long-term care facilities who survey-reported liking and frequency of dietary and physical activity behaviors. Data were analyzed using a latent variable approach, analysis of covariance, and nested regression analysis to predict percent weight change from baseline to intervention end at week 16 (average loss = 3.0%; range—6% gain to 17% loss), and follow-up at week 28 (average loss = 2.0%; range—8% gain to 16% loss). Using baseline responses, restrained eaters (reporting liking but low intakes of high fat/sweets) achieved greater weight loss at 28 weeks than those reporting high liking/high intake (average loss = 3.5 ± 0.9% versus 1.0 ± 0.8% S.E., respectively). Examining the dietary surveys separately, only improvements in liking for a healthy diet were associated significantly with weight loss (predicting 44% of total variance, p < 0.001). By contrasting liking versus intake changes, women reporting concurrent healthier diet liking and healthier intake lost the most weight (average loss = 5.4 ± 1.1% S.E.); those reporting eating healthier but not healthier diet liking (possible misreporting) gained weight (average gain = 0.3 ± 1.4% S.E.). Change in liking and frequency of physical activity were highly correlated but neither predicted weight loss independently. These pilot data support surveying dietary likes/dislikes as a useful measure to capture dietary behaviors associated with weight loss in worksite-based programs. Comparing dietary likes and intake may identify behaviors consistent (appropriate dietary restraint) or inconsistent (misreporting) with weight loss success.

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