voyeurism

Papers on microclimate modelling within a campus and the role of Augmented Reality in preserving campus heritage to be read at INTED 2024 :-)

we are very happy to share that we have been given the opportunity to read the following papers during the 18th annual International Technology, Education and Development Conference. INTED 2024 will be held in Valencia from the 4th till the 6th of March.

The abstract of Optimising learning environments: a microclimate study of a school campus in Singapore using an integrated environment modeller simulation tool (IEMsim) - to be read in the session on Learning space design - reads:

Through this project, we aim to study the microclimate of a secondary school in Singapore using the Integrated Environmental Modeller (IEMsim) developed by the lead public sector agency in Singapore responsible for economic oriented research, to evaluate the air flow and temperature of certain areas in the school, and how this can affect the comfort levels for students and teachers alike. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in hot weather trends in Singapore, with countless heat waves and dry spells throughout the year, due to urbanization, climate change, and urban heat island effects. These factors collectively contribute to a rise in temperature in Singapore, and this is especially felt in schools that are only ventilated by ceiling fans, which could have adverse effects on productivity. The IEMsim can be used to simulate and analyze complex environmental interactions, as seen when it was used by the Housing & Development Board (HDB) in Singapore in the development of the an upcoming estate. This was used to determine the ideal placement of buildings to improve wind flow, as well as identify areas that are exposed to greater temperatures to introduce more greenery at these spots to lower the temperature. We strongly believe that creating a comfortable study environment in schools is crucial as uncomfortably high temperatures can lead to heat stress, dehydration, and reduced concentration, negatively impacting students' health and overall well-being. We believe there is a direct relationship between physical studying environment and students' cognitive abilities. Comfortable temperatures and proper ventilation have shown to positively influence academic outcomes. Additionally, Singapore's push to become cleaner and greener aligns with the goal of creating sustainable and eco-friendly school environments. Incorporating natural factors, like trees and green spaces, offers numerous environmental advantages. Trees contribute to the overall reduction of the urban heat island effect, which is particularly important in a tropical climate like Singapore's. They provide shade and reduce temperatures, making the learning environment more comfortable for students and teachers alike. Furthermore, studies have shown that exposure to nature reduces stress levels, improves mood, and enhances cognitive functioning. By increasing the number of trees in school environments, Singapore can enhance its overall air quality and create a more comfortable atmosphere for students. In a nutshell, using IEMsim to investigate the microclimate of a school in Singapore is crucial for creating a comfortable study environment, especially considering recent hot weather trends. The simulator's capabilities enable a comprehensive analysis of design choices and their impacts on airflow and temperature. By leveraging the lessons learned from the simulator's use in the Tengah estate, the school can make informed decisions to enhance its microclimate, fostering better learning and well-being for its students and staff.

The abstract of Exploring the potential affordances of Augmented Reality (AR) game-based learning in campus heritage preservation  - to be read in the session on Virtual & Augmented Reality - reads:

This paper explores the potential affordances of Augmented Reality (AR) game-based learning in preserving the cultural heritage of educational institutions. In view of the increased application of game-based learning environments across various disciplinary domains, an Augmented Reality game-based learning experience is proposed to increase students’ knowledge of their school’s heritage. The game is also proposed to make the subject of school heritage more tangible as a method of preservation, by incorporating digital technology and story-telling. The study involves students playing an AR adventure role-playing game (RPG) which uses device location within the boundaries of a campus of an education institution in Singapore to trigger in-game events. To assess the effectiveness of the AR game-based experience as a medium for learning, the authors examine players’ situational interest, which emerges in response to the learning environment created, using the Situational Interest Scale (Chen, Darst, & Pangrazi, 1999). General feedback about the game experience is gathered from one-on-one interviews with participants. It is hoped that this paper will contribute to an understanding of the wider effectiveness of game-based learning environments in educational contexts.

thrilled to be part of an EV tech talk forum :-)

i am very grateful to have been invited by Performance Motors, Singapore, to be part of an EV tech talk forum.

do join us for an afternoon of sharing and learning, on the 16th of December :-)

Papers on neuroergonomics and sports science to be read at AHFE 2024 :-)

we are very happy to share that we have been given the opportunity to read the following papers during the 15th international conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics. AHFE 2024 will be held in Nice from the 24th till the 27th of July.

The use of bespoke wearables to investigate neurological and physiological responses to microclimate stressors in quasi-formal academic contexts will be read in the track on Neuroergonomics and Cognitive Engineering, in the session on Neuroergonomics: Neural Feature Extraction and Use (which i will co-chair with Sinan Guo) on the 27th of July, and is co-authored with Nguyen Duc Minh Anh, Nguyen Thien Minh Tuan, and Hugo Posada-Quintero. its abstract reads:

Climate change caused by anthropogenic environmental pollution has become one of the most pressing issues of our modern world. For instance, heat waves have been shown to seriously impair students’ health and productivity (Lala & Hagishima, 2023). The general problem of climate change has influenced recent research to focus on redesigning and restructuring the living environment to improve human health and productivity. Yet, according to Palme and Salvati (2021), there have been relatively few studies on the relationships between microclimates and human health and emotions. According to the disciplines of environmental neuroscience and environmental psychology, this is particularly detrimental as the in-depth knowledge obtained can be used to enhance human health and productivity, as well as influence their attitude towards the environment (Doell et al., 2023). In parallel, the practice of citizen science can democratise the process of learning and accelerate the progress of research (de Sherbinin et al., 2021). This paper reports a study conducted by students as an independent research project under the mentorship of a senior research scientist at the National Institute of Education, Singapore. It represents a multidisciplinary, citizen science and neuroergonomic approach to investigate the relationships between human neuro-physiological health and mental well-being. To investigate both physical health as well as stress, low-cost, bespoken wearables were built, such as a mini weather station, Electroencephalography (EEG) headset and biometric wristband. Electrodermal activity (EDA) was also introduced as a non-invasive method to detect stress and emotional arousal (Rahma et al., 2022) and as a marker of sympathetic network activity (Zangróniz et al., 2017). For the frequency domain, features relative to EDASymp, TVSymp (spectral powers in specific frequency bands according to Posada-Quintero et al. (2016a; 2016b) and their normalised versions were focused on as they were found to be highly sensitive to orthostatic, cognitive, and physical stress (Posada-Quintero et al., 2020). Machine learning models were trained to investigate relationships between emotional arousal, stress and the surrounding environment. To elaborate, climate change might precipitate changes to microclimates to the extent that for those inhabiting these biomes the changes might be detrimental to physical and mental well-being. Therefore, investigating EDA data may unveil hidden relationships as to how microclimate is related to our perception of well-being at a granular level. In this way, the present study builds on prior work (eg, Lim et al., 2022) that documented changes in microclimate on affective states. It is hoped that analyses of EDA data will further strengthen the emerging model describing the intersections between local microclimate and physiological and neurological stress. Neuroergonomics has been proposed by Parasuraman & Rizzo (2008) as the examination of brain mechanisms and underlying human–technology interaction in increasingly naturalistic settings, the latter of which are representative of work and everyday-life situations. In the present study, we apply this paradigm to the use of EDA in the context of students’ scholastic activity. We seek to understand factors influencing the affective states of learners. Our preliminary findings suggest implications for the design of living and studying conditions with respect to the interaction of microclimate and human health and comfort.

Investigating the relationship between microclimate factors and human exercise performance from the perspective of citizen science will be read in the track on Human Factors in Sports, Injury Prevention and Outdoor Recreation, in the session on Performance, Risk, and Wellness in Sports on the 27th of July, and is co-authored with Quek Yi Ming, Dinh Nho An, Nguyen Duc Minh Anh, and Nguyen Thien Minh Tuan. its abstract reads:

The United Nations has long upheld the value of sports and exercise in building healthy individuals, promoting societal values, and nurturing crucial life skills. There exists a significant body of work already conducted on how environmental factors affect elite sporting athletes. However, much remains to be discovered about the effect of environmental conditions on exercise performance particularly as it might relate to more localised microclimates. This paper reports an independent research project conducted by a pair of high school students between April 2023 and March 2024, under the mentorship of a senior research scientist at the National Institute of Education in Singapore. The study aimed to investigate the relationships between microclimate factors and human exercise performance, and is situated under the aegis of a broader trajectory of work in which investigations of microclimate are approached from maker-centric perspectives. The particular exercise of interest was running due to its wide applicability and versatility. From personal experience, when the environment is hot and humid, the authors have found it particularly challenging to carry out an exercise routine at high intensities; exhaustion sets in rather quickly. To investigate this relationship, a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) environmental unit was built using Internet of Things (IoT) environmental sensors, which measured microclimate readings such as humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, ambient temperature, and wind speed. To capture exercise performance, biometric wristbands were built from component parts, using electrodermal activity sensors, an accelerometer and a gyroscope. This biometric device recorded raw electrical signals in the skin, as well as relevant physiological data from dynamic movements during exercise. The device – similar in function to a smartwatch - better suited the present investigation as it outputs raw electrical data. Both devices were secured with arm band straps. Prior to a session, participants were asked to fill out a form to self-report their current state of well-being, as well as present level of fitness. After a 15-minute warm-up, they were then asked to follow a pattern of activity adapted from the Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test (LIST), over a marked 20-m distance, in a specified location chosen by convenience, while wearing both the environmental device and biometric wristbands. Throughout the session, after warmup and after every set of activities, qualitative assessments were conducted on participants using Borg’s Rating of Perceived Exertion scale. This afforded a preliminary evaluation of the runner’s level of exertion during the exercise, and subsequent analysis with real-time environmental data would uncover underlying relationships between performance perception and microclimate. The data was preprocessed, then analysed using machine learning algorithms to uncover underlying correlations between environmental data and level of exertion during an exercise as measured by electrodermal activity (EDA). The latter has shown to be greatly influenced by ambient temperature and air humidity, displaying high correlation metrics. This agrees well with the existing body of work, thus further proving the potential of low–cost DIY sensors in investigating complex relationships involving human factors. Our findings could provide useful inferences for designing activity spaces to maximise athletes’ exercise performance.