Monitoring Particulate Matter with Wearable Sensors and the Influence on Student Environmental Attitudes
The mobile monitoring of air pollution is a growing field, prospectively filling in spatial gaps while personalizing air-quality-based risk assessment. We developed wearable sensors to record particulate matter (PM), and through a community science approach, students of partnering Chicago high schoo...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/3/1295 |
| _version_ | 1827658552317050880 |
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| author | Frances Kane Joseph Abbate Eric C. Landahl Mark J. Potosnak |
| author_facet | Frances Kane Joseph Abbate Eric C. Landahl Mark J. Potosnak |
| author_sort | Frances Kane |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The mobile monitoring of air pollution is a growing field, prospectively filling in spatial gaps while personalizing air-quality-based risk assessment. We developed wearable sensors to record particulate matter (PM), and through a community science approach, students of partnering Chicago high schools monitored PM concentrations during their commutes over a five- and thirteen-day period. Our main objective was to investigate how mobile monitoring influenced students’ environmental attitudes and we did this by having the students explore the relationship between PM concentrations and urban vegetation. Urban vegetation was approximated with a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) using Landsat 8 satellite imagery. While the linear regression for one partner school indicated a negative correlation between PM and vegetation, the other indicated a positive correlation, contrary to our expectations. Survey responses were scored on the basis of their environmental affinity and knowledge. There were no significant differences between cumulative pre- and post-experiment survey responses at Josephinum Academy, and only one weakly significant difference in survey results at DePaul Prep in the Knowledge category. However, changes within certain attitudinal subscales may possibly suggest that students were inclined to practice more sustainable behaviors, but perhaps lacked the resources to do so. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:06:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d45b0b2019b0472db67381a88d758fd6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:06:17Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-d45b0b2019b0472db67381a88d758fd62023-11-23T17:53:39ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202022-02-01223129510.3390/s22031295Monitoring Particulate Matter with Wearable Sensors and the Influence on Student Environmental AttitudesFrances Kane0Joseph Abbate1Eric C. Landahl2Mark J. Potosnak3Department of Environmental Science and Studies, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60614, USADepartment of Environmental Science and Studies, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60614, USADepartment of Physics, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60614, USADepartment of Environmental Science and Studies, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60614, USAThe mobile monitoring of air pollution is a growing field, prospectively filling in spatial gaps while personalizing air-quality-based risk assessment. We developed wearable sensors to record particulate matter (PM), and through a community science approach, students of partnering Chicago high schools monitored PM concentrations during their commutes over a five- and thirteen-day period. Our main objective was to investigate how mobile monitoring influenced students’ environmental attitudes and we did this by having the students explore the relationship between PM concentrations and urban vegetation. Urban vegetation was approximated with a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) using Landsat 8 satellite imagery. While the linear regression for one partner school indicated a negative correlation between PM and vegetation, the other indicated a positive correlation, contrary to our expectations. Survey responses were scored on the basis of their environmental affinity and knowledge. There were no significant differences between cumulative pre- and post-experiment survey responses at Josephinum Academy, and only one weakly significant difference in survey results at DePaul Prep in the Knowledge category. However, changes within certain attitudinal subscales may possibly suggest that students were inclined to practice more sustainable behaviors, but perhaps lacked the resources to do so.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/3/1295air qualitywearable sensorsparticulate matterenvironmental attitudescommunity science |
| spellingShingle | Frances Kane Joseph Abbate Eric C. Landahl Mark J. Potosnak Monitoring Particulate Matter with Wearable Sensors and the Influence on Student Environmental Attitudes Sensors air quality wearable sensors particulate matter environmental attitudes community science |
| title | Monitoring Particulate Matter with Wearable Sensors and the Influence on Student Environmental Attitudes |
| title_full | Monitoring Particulate Matter with Wearable Sensors and the Influence on Student Environmental Attitudes |
| title_fullStr | Monitoring Particulate Matter with Wearable Sensors and the Influence on Student Environmental Attitudes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Monitoring Particulate Matter with Wearable Sensors and the Influence on Student Environmental Attitudes |
| title_short | Monitoring Particulate Matter with Wearable Sensors and the Influence on Student Environmental Attitudes |
| title_sort | monitoring particulate matter with wearable sensors and the influence on student environmental attitudes |
| topic | air quality wearable sensors particulate matter environmental attitudes community science |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/3/1295 |
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