Archives

This page archives old articles posted on the research page.
 

Portable Global Positioning System receivers: Static validity and environmental conditions

S Duncan, TI Stewart, M Oliver, S Mavoa, D MacRae, HM Badland & MJ Duncan

Source: American Journal of Preventive Medicine | Year: 2013 | Volume: 44 | Issue: 2 | Pages: e19-e29

ABSTRACT

Background: GPS receivers are becoming increasingly common as an objective measure of spatiotemporal movement in free-living populations; however, research into the effects of the surrounding physical environment on the accuracy of off-the-shelf GPS receivers is limited.

Purpose: The goal of the current study was to (1) determine the static validity of ... (more)


POSTED ON: 09 Jul 2013 02:07:17

POSTED BY: Administration




A new analytical method for the classification of time-location data obtained from the global positioning system (GPS)

T Kim, K Lee, W Yang & SD Yu

Source: Journal of Environmental Monitoring | Year: 2012 | Volume: 14 | Issue: 8 | Pages: 2270-2274

Although the global positioning system (GPS) has been suggested as an alternative way to determine time-location patterns, its use has been limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a new analytical method of classifying time-location data obtained by GPS. A field technician carried a GPS device while simulating various scripted activities and recorded all ... (more)


POSTED ON: 15 Jan 2013 02:01:24

POSTED BY: Administration




Enhancing positioning accuracy in urban terrain by fusing data from a GPS receiver, inertial sensors, stereo-camera and digital maps for pedestrian...

P Baranski & P Strumillo

Source: Sensors | Year: 2012 | Volume: 12 | Issue: 6 | Pages: 6764-6801

The paper presents an algorithm for estimating a pedestrian location in an urban environment. The algorithm is based on the particle filter and uses different data sources: a GPS receiver, inertial sensors, probability maps and a stereo camera. Inertial sensors are used to estimate a relative displacement of a pedestrian. A gyroscope estimates a change in the heading ... (more)


POSTED ON: 15 Jan 2013 02:01:03

POSTED BY: Administration


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Assessment of physical activity and energy expenditure by GPS combined with accelerometry in real-life conditions

DM Tuan Nguyen, V Lecoultre, Y Sunami & Y Schutz

Source: Journal of Physical Activity and Health | Year: 2012

BACKGROUND. Physical activity (PA) and related energy expenditure (EE) is often assessed by means of a single technique. Because of inherent limitations, single techniques may not allow for an accurate assessment both PA and related EE. The aim of this study was to develop a model to accurately assess common PA types and durations and thus EE in free-living ... (more)


POSTED ON: 15 Jan 2013 02:01:54

POSTED BY: Administration




Locations of joint physical activity in parent-child pairs based on accelerometer and GPS monitoring

GF Dunton, Y Liao, E Almanza, M Jerrett, D Spruijt-Metz & MA Pentz

Source: Annals of Behavioral Medicine | Year: 2012

BACKGROUND: Parental factors may play an important role in influencing children's physical activity levels.

PURPOSE: This cross-sectional study sought to describe the locations of joint physical activity among parents and children.

METHODS: Parent-child pairs (N = 291) wore an Actigraph GT2M accelerometer and GlobalSat BT-335 global positioning ... (more)


POSTED ON: 15 Jan 2013 02:01:26

POSTED BY: Administration




The impact of the built environment on young people’s physical activity patterns: A suburban-rural comparison using GPS

P Collins, Y Al-Nakeeb, A Nevill & M Lyons

Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health | Year: 2012 | Volume: 9 | Issue: 9 | Pages: 3030-3050

The built environment in which young people live has a significant influence on their physical activity (PA). However, little is known regarding how youth from suburban and rural settings utilise their surrounding environments to participate in free-living PA. 50 adolescents aged 13–14 years old (22 rural; 28 suburban) wore an integrated GPS and heart rate device ... (more)


POSTED ON: 15 Jan 2013 02:01:02

POSTED BY: Administration


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Using GPS technology to (re)-examine operational definitions of 'neighbourhood' in place-based health research

BJ Boruff, A Nathan & S Nijenstein

Source: International Journal of Health Geographics | Year: 2012 | Volume: 11 | Issue: 22 | Pages: doi:10.1186/1476-072X-11-22

BACKGROUND: Inconsistencies in research findings on the impact of the built environment on walking across the life course may be methodologically driven. Commonly used methods to define 'neighbourhood', from which built environment variables are measured, may not accurately represent the spatial extent to which the behaviour in question occurs. This paper aims to ... (more)


POSTED ON: 15 Jan 2013 02:01:55

POSTED BY: Administration


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Performance of GPS-devices for environmental exposure assessment

J Beekhuizen, H Kromhout, A Huss & R Vermeulen

Source: Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology | Year: 2012 | Volume: doi:10.1038/jes.2012.81

Integration of individual time-location patterns with spatially resolved exposure maps enables a more accurate estimation of personal exposures to environmental pollutants than using estimates at fixed locations. Current global positioning system (GPS) devices can be used to track an individual's location. However, information on GPS-performance in environmental ... (more)


POSTED ON: 15 Jan 2013 00:01:05

POSTED BY: Administration




Linking GPS and travel diary data using sequence alignment in a study of children's independent mobility

Suzanne Mavoa, Melody Oliver, Karen Witten, Hannah M Badland

Source: International Journal of Health Geographics | Year: 2011 | Volume: 10 | Issue: 64

Global positioning systems (GPS) are increasingly being used in health research to determine the location of study participants. Combining GPS data with data collected via travel/activity diaries allows researchers to assess where people travel in conjunction with data about trip purpose and accompaniment. However, linking GPS and diary data is problematic and to ... (more)


POSTED ON: 24 Jul 2012 01:07:54

POSTED BY: Melody Oliver


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Combining global positioning system and accelerometer data to determine the locations of physical activity in children

NM Oreskovic, J Blossom, AE Field, SR Chiang, JP Winickoff & RE Kleinman

Source: Geospatial Health | Year: 2012 | Volume: 6 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 263-272

National trends indicate that children and adolescents are not achieving sufficient levels of physical activity. Combining global positioning system (GPS) technology with accelerometers has the potential to provide an objective deter- mination in locations where youth engage in physical activity. The aim of this study was to identify the optimal methods for ... (more)


POSTED ON: 06 May 2012 22:05:18

POSTED BY: Administration


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Home versus nonhome neighborhood: Quantifying differences in exposure to the built environment

PM Hurvitz & AV Moudon

Source: American Journal of Preventive Medicine | Year: 2012 | Volume: 42 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 411-417

BACKGROUND
Built environment and health research have focused on characteristics of home neighborhoods, whereas overall environmental exposures occur over larger spatial ranges.

PURPOSE
Differences in built environment characteristics were analyzed for home and nonhome locations using GPS data.

METHODS
GPS data collected in 2007–2008 were analyzed for 41 ... (more)


POSTED ON: 17 Apr 2012 21:04:10

POSTED BY: Administration




Identifying Walking Trips From GPS and Accelerometer Data in Adolescent Females

DR Rodriguez, G-H Cho, JP Elder, TL Conway, KR Evenson, B Ghosh-Dastidar, E Shay, D Cohen, S Veblen-Mortenson, J Pickrell & LA Lytle

Source: Journal of Physical Activity and Health | Year: 2012 | Volume: 9 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 421-431

Background: Studies that have combined accelerometers and global positioning systems (GPS) to identify walking have done so in carefully controlled conditions. This study tested algorithms for identifying walking trips from accelerometer and GPS data in free-living conditions. The study also assessed the accuracy of the locations where walking occurred compared with ... (more)


POSTED ON: 02 Apr 2012 03:04:16

POSTED BY: Administration




Evaluation of the Trackstick™ Super GPS Tracker for use in Walking Research

D McMinn, DA Rowe & I Cuk

Source: Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport | Year: 2012 | Volume: 83 | Issue: 1 | Pages: 108-113

Research Note - No Abstract


POSTED ON: 12 Mar 2012 21:03:48

POSTED BY: Administration




Using Global Positioning Systems in health research: A practical approach to data collection and processing

J Kerr, S Duncan & J Schipperijn

Source: American Journal of Preventive Medicine | Year: 2011 | Volume: 41 | Issue: 5 | Pages: 532-540

ABSTRACT

The use of GPS devices in health research is increasingly popular. There are currently no best-practice guidelines for collecting, processing, and analyzing GPS data. The standardization of data collection and processing procedures will improve data quality, allow more-meaningful comparisons across studies and populations, and advance this field more ... (more)


POSTED ON: 18 Oct 2011 20:10:23

POSTED BY: Administration




Potential health impact of switching from car to public transportation when commuting to work

A Morabia, FE Mirer, TM Amstislavski, HM Eisl, J Werbe-Fuentes, J Gorczynski, C Goranson, MS Wolff & S Markowitz

Source: American Journal of Public Health | Year: 2010 | Volume: 100 | Issue: 12 | Pages: 2388-2391

We assessed humidity-corrected particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure and physical activity (using global positioning system monitors and diaries) among 18 people who commuted by car to Queens College, New York, New York, for 5 days, and then switched to commuting for the next 5 days via public transportation. The PM2.5 differed little between car and public ... (more)


POSTED ON: 18 Feb 2011 00:02:30

POSTED BY: Administration




Commuting and health in Cambridge: a study of a 'natural experiment' in the provision of new transport infrastructure

D Ogilvie, S Griffin, A Jones, R Mackett, C Guell, J Panter, N Jones, S Cohn, L Yang & C Chapman

Source: BMC Public Health | Year: 2010 | Volume: 10 | Issue: 703 | Pages: 1-13

Background
Modifying transport infrastructure to support active travel (walking and cycling) could help to increase population levels of physical activity. However, there is limited evidence for the effects of interventions in this field, and to the best of our knowledge no study has convincingly demonstrated an increase in physical activity directly attributable to ... (more)


POSTED ON: 18 Feb 2011 00:02:50

POSTED BY: Administration




Describing patterns of physical activity in adolescents using global positioning systems and accelerometry

R Maddison, Y Jiang, S Vander Hoorn, D Exeter, C Ni Mhurchu & E Dorey

Source: Pediatric Exercise Science | Year: 2010 | Volume: 22 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 392-407

This study aimed to describe the location and intensity of free-living physical activity in New Zealand adolescents during weekdays and weekend days using Global Positioning Systems (GPS), accelerometry, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Participants (n = 79) aged 12–17 years (M = 14.5, SD 1.6) recruited fromtwo large metropolitan high schools each wore a ... (more)


POSTED ON: 17 Feb 2011 23:02:43

POSTED BY: Administration




Schoolyard physical activity in 14-year-old adolescents assessed by mobile GPS and heart rate monitoring analysed by GIS

I Fjørtoft, O Löfman & K Halvorsen Thorén

Source: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health | Year: 2010 | Volume: 38 | Issue: Suppl 5 | Pages: 28-37

BACKGROUND: Environmental settings seem to influence the activity patterns of children in neighbourhoods and schoolyards, the latter being an important arena to promote physical activity (PA) in school children. New technology has made it possible to describe free-living PA in interaction with the environment. Aims of study: This study focused on how schoolyard ... (more)


POSTED ON: 17 Feb 2011 23:02:08

POSTED BY: Administration




Examining commute routes: Applications of GIS and GPS technology

HM Badland, MJ Duncan, M Oliver, JS Duncan & S Mavoa

Source: Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine | Year: 2010 | Volume: 15 | Issue: 5 | Pages: 327-330

Objective
The application of geographic information systems (GIS) to describe commute route elements is commonplace, yet the accuracy of GIS-estimated commute routes is not clear. This study compared GIS-estimated commute routes against actual routes traveled as measured using global positioning systems (GPS) to examine differences in urban form surrounding travel ... (more)


POSTED ON: 08 Sep 2010 04:09:30

POSTED BY: Administration




Greenspace and children's physical activity: a GPS/GIS analysis of the PEACH project

BW Wheeler, AR Cooper, AS Page & R Jago

Source: Preventive Medicine | Year: 2010 | Volume: 51 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 148-152

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the volume and intensity of children's physical activity after school in greenspace and elsewhere.

METHODS: Data were collected between 2006 and 2008 from 1,307 children aged 10-11 in Bristol, UK. Accelerometers and Global Positioning System receivers measured activity and location every 10 s (epoch) after school for four days. Data were ... (more)


POSTED ON: 29 Jul 2010 02:07:38

POSTED BY: Administration




Identifying Walking Trips Using GPS Data

GH Cho, DA Rodriguez & KR Evenson

Source: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise | Year: 2010 | Volume: doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181ebec3c

Purpose: This study developed and tested algorithms to identify outdoor walking trips from portable global positioning system (GPS) units in free-living conditions.

Methods: The study included a calibration and a validation phase. For the calibration phase, we determined the best algorithm from 35 person-days of data. Measures of agreement regarding the daily ... (more)


POSTED ON: 29 Jul 2010 02:07:52

POSTED BY: Administration




Automating mode detection for travel behaviour analysis by using global positioning systems-enabled mobile phones and neural networks

PA Gonzalez, JS Weinstein, SJ Barbeau, MA Labrador, PL Winters, NL Georggi & R Perez

Source: IET Intelligent Transport Systems | Year: 2010 | Volume: 4 | Issue: 1 | Pages: 37-49

ABSTRACT
Travel surveys collect trip data such as origin, destination, mode, duration, distance and purpose of trips, as well as socioeconomic and demographic data for analysis. Transportation planners, policymakers, state departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organisations, industry professionals and academic researchers use survey data to better ... (more)


POSTED ON: 07 Jun 2010 23:06:17

POSTED BY: Administration




Patterns of GPS measured time outdoors after school and objective physical activity in English children: the PEACH project

Ashley R Cooper, Angie S Page, Benedict W Wheeler, Melvyn Hillsdon, Pippa Griew and Russell Jago

Source: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity | Year: 2010 | Volume: 7 | Issue: 31 | Pages: doi:10.1186/1479-5868-7-31

Background
Observational studies have shown a positive association between time outdoors and physical activity in children. Time outdoors may be a feasible intervention target to increase the physical activity of youth, but methods are required to accurately measure time spent outdoors in a range of locations and over a sustained period. The Global Positioning ... (more)


POSTED ON: 22 Apr 2010 21:04:05

POSTED BY: Administration




Using accelerometers and GPS units to identify the proportion of daily physical activity located in parks with playgrounds in New Zealand children

R Quigg, A Gray, A Reeder, A Holt & D Waters

Source: Preventive Medicine | Year: 2010 | Volume: 50 | Issue: 5-6 | Pages: 235-240

Objective
To identify the proportion of children's physical activity occurring in public parks with playgrounds.

Methods
Children (n = 184) aged 5 to 10 years were recruited from schools located in two low socio-economic status communities in Dunedin, New Zealand. Accelerometers (Actigraph GT1M) and global positioning system units (Globalsat DG-100) were used to ... (more)


POSTED ON: 07 Jun 2010 22:06:59

POSTED BY: Administration




The built environment and location based physical activity

Troped, Wilson, Matthews, Cromley, Melly

Source: American Journal of Preventive Medicine | Year: 2010 | Volume: 38 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 429-438

Background: Studies of the built environment and physical activity have implicitly assumed that a substantial amount of activity occurs near home, but in fact the location is unknown.
Purpose: This study aims to examine associations between built environment variables within home and work buffers and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) occurring within ... (more)


POSTED ON: 25 Mar 2010 23:03:45

POSTED BY: Jenna Panter


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Combining GPS, GIS and accelerometry: Methodological issues in the assessment of location and intensity of travel behaviors

Melody Oliver, Hannah M Badland, Suzanne Mavoa, Mitch J Duncan, J Scott Duncan

Source: Journal of Physical Activity and Health | Year: 2010 | Volume: 7 | Issue: 1

Background: Global positioning systems (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), and accelerometers are powerful tools to explain activity within a built environment, yet little integration of these tools has taken place. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of combining GPS, GIS, and accelerometry to understand transport-related physical activity (TPA) in ... (more)


POSTED ON: 21 Jan 2010 21:01:31

POSTED BY: Melody Oliver




Mapping the Walk to School Using Accelerometry Combined with a Global Positioning System

Ashley R. Cooper, PhD, Angie S. Page, PhD, Benedict W. Wheeler, PhD, Pippa Griew, MSc, Laura Davis, MSc, Melvyn Hillsdon, PhD, Russell Jago, PhD

Source: American Journal of Preventive Medicine | Year: 2010 | Volume: 38 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 178-183

Walking to school is associated with higher levels of physical activity, but the contribution of the journey itself to physical activity before school is unknown. This study combined accelerometer and GPS data to investigate the level and location of physical activity in children walking to school. Participants were 137 children (aged 11.3 years) from London, ... (more)


POSTED ON: 21 Jan 2010 19:01:34

POSTED BY: Ashley Cooper




Children in schoolyards: Tracking movement patterns and physical activity in schoolyards using global positioning system and heart rate monitoring

Ingunn Fjørtoft , Bjørn Kristoffersen, Jostein Sageie

Source: Landscape and Urban Planning | Year: 2009 | Volume: 93 | Pages: 210–217

ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to investigate how 6-year-old school children used their schoolyard during recess and how the yard invited investigation. Two different schoolyards, one in the city and one rural, in Southern Norway were chosen for the study. The schoolyards were mapped and the affordances for physical activity described and presented in an ... (more)


POSTED ON: 20 Nov 2009 00:11:46

POSTED BY: Ingunn Fjortoft


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Environmental supportiveness for physical activity in English schoolchildren: a study using Global Positioning Systems

Andy Jones, Emma Coombes, Simon Griffin, Esther van Sluijs

Source: International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity | Year: 2009 | Volume: 6 | Pages: 42

Background: There is increasing evidence that the environment plays a role in influencing physical activity in children and adults. As children have less autonomy in their behavioural choices, neighbourhood environment supportiveness may be an important determinant of their ability to be active. Yet we know rather little about the types of environment that children ... (more)


POSTED ON: 18 Nov 2009 10:11:01

POSTED BY: Andy Jones




Processing raw data from Global Positioning Systems without additional information

N Schuessler and KW Axhausen

Source: Transportation Research Record | Year: 2009 | Volume: 2105 | Pages: 28-36

Since the first Global Positioning System (GPS) studies in the mid-1990s, this method of surveying individual travel behavior has gained attention in transport research. Compared with classic travel survey methods, GPS studies offer researchers benefits of more accurate and reliable information. At the same time, the participants' burden is reduced substantially if ... (more)


POSTED ON: 16 Nov 2009 22:11:49

POSTED BY: Administration




Combining GPS with heart rate monitoring to measure physical activity in children: A feasibility study

JS Duncan, HM Badland & G Schofield

Source: Journal of Science & Medicine in Sport | Year: 2009 | Volume: 12 | Issue: 5 | Pages: 583-585

The recent development of global positioning system (GPS) receivers with integrated heart rate (HR) monitoring has provided a new method for estimating the energy expenditure associated with children's movement. The purpose of this feasibility study was to trial a combination of GPS surveillance and HR monitoring in 39 primary-aged children from New Zealand. Spatial ... (more)


POSTED ON: 09 Nov 2009 20:11:19

POSTED BY: Administration




A criterion method for measuring route distance in physically active commuting

P Schantz & E Stigell

Source: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise | Year: 2009 | Volume: 41 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 472-478

PURPOSE: There is a need for accurate, reliable, and feasible methods for determining route distances in physically active transportation. The aim of this study, therefore, was to scrutinize if distances of commuting routes drawn by physically active commuters and measured with a digital curvimetric distance measurement device could serve such a purpose.

METHODS: ... (more)


POSTED ON: 09 Nov 2009 20:11:57

POSTED BY: Administration




Deriving and validating trip purposes and travel modes for multi-day GPS-based travel surveys: A large-scale application in the Netherlands

W Bohte & K Maat

Source: Transportation Research Part C | Year: 2009 | Volume: 17 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 285-297

In the past few decades, travel patterns have become more complex and policy makers demand more detailed information. As a result, conventional data collection methods seem no longer adequate to satisfy all data needs. Travel researchers around the world are currently experimenting with different Global Positioning System (GPS)-based data collection methods. An overview of the literature shows the potential of these methods, especially when algorithms that include spatial data are used to derive trip characteristics from the GPS logs. This article presents an innovative method that combines GPS logs, Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and an interactive web-based validation application. In particular, this approach concentrates on the issue of deriving and validating trip purposes and travel modes, as well as allowing for reliable multi-day data collection. In 2007, this method was used in practice in a large-scale study conducted in the Netherlands. In total, 1104 respondents successfully participated in the one-week survey. The project demonstrated that GPS-based methods now provide reliable multi-day data. In comparison with data from the Dutch Travel Survey, travel mode and trip purpose shares were almost equal while more trips per tour were recorded, which indicates the ability of collecting trips that are missed by paper diary methods.


POSTED ON: 09 Nov 2009 20:11:34

POSTED BY: Administration




Accuracy of iPhone locations: A comparison of Assisted GPS, WiFi, and Cellular Positioning

PA Zandbergen

Source: Transactions in GIS | Year: 2009 | Volume: 13 | Issue: S1 | Pages: 5-26

The 3G iPhone was the first consumer device to provide a seamless integration of three positioning technologies: Assisted GPS (A-GPS), WiFi positioning and cellular network positioning. This study presents an evaluation of the accuracy of locations obtained using these three positioning modes on the 3G iPhone. A-GPS locations were validated using surveyed benchmarks ... (more)


POSTED ON: 09 Nov 2009 20:11:09

POSTED BY: Administration