SpotAffald: A Citizen Science Approach to Litter in Context
Authors
Fælled, Christoffer Cæsar ; Larsen, Chatrine Elisabeth
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2021
Abstract
Denne afhandling undersøger, om borgervidenskab kan afhjælpe manglen på viden om affald på land ved at indsamle billeder af affald i sin kontekst. Til formålet blev SpotAffald udviklet som en Flutter-baseret mobilapp til iOS og Android, hvor brugere kan fotografere affald, tilføje annoteringer og indsende observationer. Appen inkluderer funktioner inspireret af forskning i gamification og brugermotivation. Prototypen blev evalueret over to uger med User Motivation Inventory samt kvalitativ brugerfeedback. Resultaterne viste, at brugerne primært var drevet af indre motivation, såsom personlige værdier, frem for ydre incitamenter. De indsamlede fund og billeder peger på, at mobil, borgerdrevet indsamling kan være en billig og skalerbar metode til at opbygge datasæt af affald i kontekst i en dansk sammenhæng. Det er dog uklart, om de implementerede motivationsfunktioner kan sikre vedvarende engagement på længere sigt.
This thesis examines whether citizen science can help close the information gap on inland litter by collecting images of litter in context. To investigate motivation and feasibility, the SpotAffald mobile app was developed in Flutter for iOS and Android, enabling users to photograph litter, add annotations, and submit observations. The app incorporates features informed by research on gamification and user motivation. The prototype was evaluated over two weeks using the User Motivation Inventory alongside qualitative user feedback. Findings indicate that users were primarily driven by intrinsic factors, such as personal values, rather than external rewards. The gathered findings and images suggest that mobile, citizen-led data collection can be a low-cost, scalable way to build datasets of litter in context in a Danish setting. However, it remains uncertain whether the implemented motivational features can sustain long-term engagement.
[This summary has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project (PDF)]
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