Door Slamming Research Articles

Freelancing

Freelancing Stan Hollingworth (bio) When the alarm rang, Lisa struggled into a standing position. A dull ache rested just behind her eyes and her mouth was dry. Trudging into the guest cottage kitchen, she pushed a button on a coffee maker. The digital display indicated six o'clock. The cottage was a quaint addition to a spacious, custom home in an affluent suburb of sprawling lawns and tree-lined streets. Lisa wasn't a guest; she and her husband, Kevin, owned the valuable but heavily-mortgaged property. She had adopted the guest house as a sanctuary from marital and financial problems. With a cup of steaming coffee, she sat in a breakfast nook. For a few moments, she drifted into visual memories of better times. She and Kevin were hosting a pool party for friends and business associates. Conversation and laughter filled the backyard as the smell of grilled seafood and steak wafted over an array of guests. A door slamming in the main house brought Lisa back to the present. An engine growled as Kevin started his aging BMW and backed from the driveway. Lisa finished her coffee and quickly dressed. She left the cottage and approached the house, passing a water-starved lawn and an empty swimming pool. Entering a spacious kitchen that was once state of the art but now needed upgrades, she rushed down a long hallway and paused in front of a bedroom door. She turned the knob and teased the door open. Stepping through a maze of electric guitars, amplifiers, and video game equipment, she made her way to the bedside of her fourteen-year-old son, Barry. Tall for his age with long hair and pale skin, he was sprawled among pillows and blankets. She gently nudged his shoulder until his eyes opened. "Barry," she whispered. "It's time for school." "I'm not going today," he mumbled. "Get out of my room." "You have to go, honey," she continued. "You know what the counselor said. Any more absences and you might not move on to high school." "Screw the counselor," Barry said. "Get out of my room." Lisa bit her lip and brushed hair from her forehead. She had always been insecure as a mother. Unassertive and lacking the knack for child-rearing, she struggled from the day Barry was born. If he cried or fussed as an infant, she always picked him up. As a toddler and preschooler, she bought him whatever he asked for or pointed at in a store. His room filled [End Page 59] with every gadget and toy imaginable. As he grew older, the toys changed to expensive electronic devices. Kevin, who had been ambivalent about having a child, spent as little time as possible with his son. School and Barry clashed from the first day of kindergarten. He couldn't cope with a world that didn't treat him as his mother did. Either he was uncooperative and sat alone for days at a time or he acted out in clever, devious ways. He was passed from one grade to another because the school district didn't know what else to do with him. Now, in the last year of middle school, he had become sullen and distant. "Listen, honey," Lisa pleaded, sitting on the bed. "If you go to school until the end of the grading period, which is only two weeks away, I'll buy you two tickets to a rock festival in the city this weekend. You can take one of your friends." Showing signs of life, Barry peered at his mother. "How about two of my friends?" he asked. When Lisa agreed, he pushed himself up and rummaged through clothes strewn about the room. He pulled on an extra-large sweatshirt, worn jeans, and high-top canvas sneakers. Lisa rushed to the kitchen and made a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast. After eating a piece of toast he'd dipped into an egg yolk, Barry left the rest untouched. Lisa retrieved Barry's backpack from his room. Together they walked to the car. ________ Kevin maneuvered from one lane to another through congested morning traffic. His hair was pulled back into...

What's Important: Virtual Meeting Presentations: My First Attempt Was a Learning Experience.

What's Important: Virtual Meeting Presentations: My First Attempt Was a Learning Experience.

Experimental and numerical vibro-acoustic investigation on a trimmed car door to analyze slamming event

The closing sound of a car door is objectively not related to the intrinsic quality of the vehicle but it is an important subjective parameter for vehicle evaluation. For automotive developers, it is very interesting to deepen this phenomenon and to define a methodology to understand the influence of several parameters on door-closing sound quality. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the possibility of analysing this phenomenon, called car-door slamming, using a numerical simulation approach. Simulation methods for vibro-acoustic analysis are sufficiently robust and predictive in the case of simple systems, as it emerges from a parallel investigation conducted on an elementary component like an annular disk. In simulating complex systems, as in the case of door slamming, where non-linearities may be significant, methods are not always reliable and sufficiently predictive. In the specific case, the main difficulty is to correctly identify the dynamic behaviour of a trimmed car door, which is a very complex system. The paper reports an analysis and a comparison between the experimental and simulation results of the car-door slamming phenomenon, highlighting the dependence of the quality of the numerical results on the particular simulation method adopted. The paper also reports an experimental and numerical vibro-acoustic analysis of a trimmed car door isolated from the vehicle with no constraints (free-free condition) to ascertain its dynamic behaviour in a simpler condition not coupled to the vehicle. The result shows a significant level of system complexity even in this case.

Enhanced awakening probability of repetitive impulse sounds

In the present study relations between the level of impulse sounds and the observed proportion of behaviorally confirmed awakening reactions were determined. The sounds (shooting sounds, bangs produced by door slamming or by container transshipment, aircraft landings) were presented by means of loudspeakers in the bedrooms of 50 volunteers. The fragments for the impulse sounds consisted of single or multiple events. The sounds were presented during a 6-h period that started 75 min after the subjects wanted to sleep. In order to take account of habituation, each subject participated during 18 nights. At equal indoor A-weighted sound exposure levels, the proportion of awakening for the single impulse sounds was equal to that for the aircraft sounds. The proportion of awakening induced by the multiple impulse sounds, however, was significantly higher. For obtaining the same rate of awakening, the sound level of each of the successive impulses in a fragment had to be about 15-25 dB lower than the level of one single impulse. This level difference was largely independent of the degree of habituation. Various explanations for the enhanced awakening probability are discussed.

Evaluation of a Transient Noise Reduction Strategy for Hearing Aids

Transient noise can be disruptive for people wearing hearing aids. Ideally, the transient noise should be detected and controlled by the signal processor without disrupting speech and other intended input signals. A technology for detecting and controlling transient noises in hearing aids was evaluated in this study. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a transient noise reduction strategy on various transient noises and to determine whether the strategy has a negative impact on sound quality of intended speech inputs. This was a quasi-experimental study. The study involved 24 hearing aid users. Each participant was asked to rate the parameters of speech clarity, transient noise loudness, and overall impression for speech stimuli under the algorithm-on and algorithm-off conditions. During the evaluation, three types of stimuli were used: transient noises, speech, and background noises. The transient noises included "knife on a ceramic board," "mug on a tabletop," "office door slamming," "car door slamming," and "pen tapping on countertop." The speech sentences used for the test were presented by a male speaker in Mandarin. The background noises included "party noise" and "traffic noise." All of these sounds were combined into five listening situations: (1) speech only, (2) transient noise only, (3) speech and transient noise, (4) background noise and transient noise, and (5) speech and background noise and transient noise. There was no significant difference on the ratings of speech clarity between the algorithm-on and algorithm-off (t-test, p = 0.103). Further analysis revealed that speech clarity was significant better at 70 dB SLP than 55 dB SPL (p < 0.001). For transient noise loudness: under the algorithm-off condition, the percentages of subjects rating the transient noise to be somewhat soft, appropriate, somewhat loud, and too loud were 0.2, 47.1, 29.6, and 23.1%, respectively. The corresponding percentages under the algorithm-on were 3.0, 72.6, 22.9, and 1.4%, respectively. A significant difference on the ratings of the transient noise loudness was found between the algorithm-on and algorithm-off (t-test, p < 0.001). For overall impression for speech stimuli: under the algorithm-off condition, the percentage of subjects rating the algorithm to be not helpful at all, somewhat helpful, helpful, and very helpful for speech stimuli were 36.5, 20.8, 33.9, and 8.9%, respectively. Under the algorithm-on condition, the corresponding percentages were 35.0, 19.3, 30.7, and 15.0%, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed there was a significant difference on the ratings of overall impression on speech stimuli. The ratings under the algorithm-on condition were significantly more helpful for speech understanding than the ratings under algorithm-off (t-test, p < 0.001). The transient noise reduction strategy appropriately controlled the loudness for most of the transient noises and did not affect the sound quality, which could be beneficial to hearing aid wearers.

Research on the Sound Metric of Door Slamming Sound Based on Pseudo WIGNER-VILLE Distribution

The sound metric of the door-slamming sound quality has become one of the important researches in vehicle noise vibration and harshness(NVH).Aiming at the problem of sound quality evaluation of door-slamming,a new sound metric sound metric based on pseudo WIGNER-VILLE distribution(SMPWVD) is developed based on pseudo WIGNER-VILLE distribution.First,the sound signals of door-slamming are sampled and transformed by pseudo WIGNER-VILLE distribution;and then,the new sound metric SMPWVD is calculated based on the pseudo WIGNER-VILLE distribution coefficients of sampled sound signals of door-slamming.In order to verify the effectiveness of the new sound metric,the correlation coefficients have been calculated respectively between two conventional sound metrics(loudness,sharpness) and the subjective sound quality preference of door-slamming,as well as the new sound metric and the subjective sound quality preference of door-slamming.The result shows that the new sound metric proposed has the higher correlation with the subjective sound quality preference,so the new sound metric can evaluate the door-slamming sound quality more accurately.

On the use of peripheral autonomic signals for binary control of body–machine interfaces

In this work, the potential of using peripheral autonomic (PA) responses as control signals for body–machine interfaces that require no physical movement was investigated. Electrodermal activity, skin temperature, heart rate and respiration rate were collected from six participants and hidden Markov models (HMMs) were used to automatically detect when a subject was performing music imagery as opposed to being at rest. Experiments were performed under controlled silent conditions as well as in the presence of continuous and startle (e.g. door slamming) ambient noise. By developing subject-specific HMMs, music imagery was detected under silent conditions with the average sensitivity and specificity of 94.2% and 93.3%, respectively. In the presence of startle noise stimuli, the system sensitivity and specificity levels of 78.8% and 80.2% were attained, respectively. In environments corrupted by continuous ambient and startle noise, the system specificity further decreased to 75.9%. To improve the system robustness against environmental noise, a startle noise detection and compensation strategy were proposed. Once in place, performance levels were shown to be comparable to those observed in silence. The obtained results suggest that PA signals, combined with HMMs, can be useful tools for the development of body–machine interfaces that allow individuals with severe motor impairments to communicate and/or to interact with their environment.

Facilitation of Fear Extinction and Psychotherapy by D-Cycloserine

I can’t get the memories out of my mind! The images come flooding back in vivid detail, triggered by the most inconsequential things, like a door slamming or the smell of stir-fried pork. Last night, I went to bed, was having a good sleep for a change. Then in the early morning a storm front passed through and there was a bolt of crackling thunder. I awoke instantly, frozen in fear. I am right back in Viet Nam, in the middle of the monsoon season at my guard post. I am sure I’ll get hit in the next volley and convinced I will die. My hands are freezing, yet sweat pours from my entire body. I feel each hair on the back of my neck standing on end. I can’t catch my breath and my heart is pounding. I smell a damp sulfur smell. Suddenly I see what’s left of my buddy Troy, his head on a bamboo platter, sent back to our camp by the Viet Cong. Propaganda messages are stuffed between his clenched teeth. The next bolt of lightning and clap of thunder makes me jump so much that I fall to the floor.

Who Owns Capacity Who the World [Associate Editors' View

Placing irrevocable corporate purchase orders, remitting millions of dollars as prepayment, proposing a higher wafer price, and threatening, screaming, and door slamming are among the many things that you can do as a fabless IC design house to obtain precious capacity allocation from semiconductor foundries for the remaining part of this year. Be forewarned, though, regardless of what you do, you may not get what you want. Suddenly, almost overnight, the semiconductor industry has made a sharp turn from a deep valley to a high peak.

Startles, jumps, falls and fits

INTRODUCTION We are all personally familiar with the startle response – the abrupt ‘start’ or ‘jump’ in response to sudden unexpected stimuli, like a loud noise. This startle is a nonsuppressible reflex, which alerts us to abrupt changes in our environment that may threaten our safety. It is a reflex with survival value. But, if excessive or too easily triggered, it can interfere with daily functioning, or cause falls or injuries, and it is then a pathological response. The startle reflex is thought to be mediated at the level of the midbrain or below, because it is still elicited in decerebrate animals (Forbes & Sherrington 1914). The intensity of the startle reflex in humans varies between individuals and is increased by anxiety, fatigue or emotion (consider your response to a door slamming as you are watching a late night horror movie). Pathological startle syndromes can be divided into (Fig. 1): Primary

Bow door slamming of Ro/Ro ferries

This paper addresses the structural response of clam-type bow doors of Ro/Ro vessels under slamming loading conditions. The structural analysis is performed with the finite element code MSC/NASTRAN. The loading conditions were determined on the basis of towing tank tests, numerical calculation and regulations of classification societies. Slamming loads are applied statically and the FE code accounts for both material and geometrical nonlinearities. Apart from stress distributions, which are determined for different loading patterns, the results are used to calculate the forces and moments induced on the locking and securing elements, which secure the doors among themselves and the doors to the bow structure. The modelling methods reported may be used for the finite element analysis of similar structures. Such analyses of bow doors response under slamming loading could be submitted to classification societies for approval.

Informational masking by everyday sounds.

Tone-in-noise detection is severely degraded when only a few spectral components of the noise are presented at random on each trial [Neff and Green, Percept. Psychophys. 41, 409-415 (1987)]. The elevations in threshold are attributed to uncertainty regarding the noise caused by sparse sampling of noise components-informational masking is the term used to describe the result. The present experiment was undertaken to determine how informational masking is affected when sparse sampling is from a set of common everyday sounds instead of noise. On each presentation a different masker waveform of constant total power was synthesized from the magnitude and phase of a fixed number, m, of spectral components (m = 2-921 across blocks of trials). The components were selected at random from 1 of 50 common environmental sounds (e.g., baby crying, door slamming, phone ringing), or 1 of 50 samples of Gaussian noise. Masked thresholds for a 1.0-kHz signal in the presence of both types of maskers were obtained using an adaptive, two-interval, forced-choice procedure. Results with noise replicated earlier, results showing largest elevations in threshold for 10-20 sampled components. Results with everyday sounds showed a similar pattern with thresholds elevated above those for noise by as much as 10 dB at the larger values of m. The differences in masked thresholds were systematically related to differences in the ensemble variance of masker spectra, as predicted by a model previously applied to noise [Lutfi, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 94, 748-758 (1993)]. Not predicted was the result of a subsequent trial-by-trial analysis in which 9-11 dB less masking was observed for samples from everyday sounds rated as easily recognized by listeners. The results suggest that listeners fail to exploit lawful dependencies among spectral components of everyday sounds to aid detection, unless enough information is available for the sound to be easily recognized.

Ke Ke's Brother in Pegged Jeans

Why do I keep dreaming of the older boy I loved the year I was on the edge of eleven? He lived next door, was my best friend's brother. I remember her disgust as I confessed lying under the sky's huge bear of stars. We pricked our fingers, swore allegiance as we smeared the first red drops of innocence. Now we're kin she said,forever. I can't picture her face though I've tried as I've rocked a fevered child or walked cold floors, ears tuned to some dark music. But I can still see him: naked to the waist, his bones wrapped tight with lovely male muscles, and above his belt buckle, the exposed fine designs of hair that lead down to the part of a man's stomach I've always loved. Some nights I see him out my window, a new moon lighting his perfect profile, after a father's whiskey rage, the sound of glass breaking, a back screen door slamming, and feel the same unnameable shock.

Red Light, Green Light

RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT / Marcia Southwick The woods lock them in. Leaves click shut around them, the children playing Red Light, Green Light. "What should I do?"— a few words drifting through my window are loud enough to halt the children's voices, which vanish like snuffed-out stars. Pushing me back in, holding the door ajar, she said, "Stay here. Here." Don't move, there's an overflow of woods. Or sprouting from a crack in the floor, the light, and four walls sealing me in. She shoved me back into my body, a door slamming, "There, remember this." It's the way the wind stops, and the children playing Red Light, Green Light scatter forward. The one who's Jf says Red Light, her voice a sliver of white ice ringing the air. The Missouri Review · 52 ...

The accentuation of intransitive sentences in English

This article will be concerned with the accentuation of two types of sentence in English: straightforward intransitive sentences, like (1), and intransitive sentences embedded in the frame It's just NP V-ing, like (2), (1) The DOOR slammed. (2) It's just the DOOR slamming.

Whodunit

WHODUNIT / Elizabeth Spires Like a photographer developing a photograph, slipping the light-sensitive paper into solution until the image rises, clear as a piece of evidence, day rises slowly out of dawn, each tree dripping with mist, leaning toward the house with mute, inarticulate secrets, new leaves suffusing the rooms with the green light of memory, green's utter recall. The day is a question mark, unpredictable as the detective novel you were reading last night: a car on a hairpin curve skidding toward a guardrail, a woman pushed from a second story window who may be guilty or innocent. The book lies face down on the table beside the glass of water and the sleeping pills, open to the page where you left off reading, so that she falls and continues to fall all night, silently screaming, an unfinished, interrupted dream with only one possible ending. Below the yard is brightening, long shadows lie like stains in the grass. You sleep unaware Tm not beside you, the sound of a pen scratching out a message on paper, a car door slamming, a shout, making their way into your dreams, the first clues that the day may or may not turn out as you expected coming to you in sleep, gentle, insistent, veiled. The Missouri Review · 252 ...

Confusion errors in identification of environmental sounds

The background sounds of everyday life make available much information about activities and objects in the environment. (Consider, for example, familiar footsteps or a sneeze.) In this study, listeners heard a tape recording of 30 such sounds and reported in writing on what they heard (free identification). Their responses showed that they identified many of the recorded events accurately, e.g., paper tearing, keys jingling, clapping, based only on acoustic information. The exception were the “thumps”, such as a door slamming, where accuracy was much poorer. Errors in identification suggest some acoustic properties or features to which listeners may have been responding. Confusion occured only within pairs or small clusters of sounds; for example, blowing-sniffing, scratching-scribbling, and footsteps-knocking-hammering. In particular, confusion occurred among items having quite similar temporal patterning, which might be described in terms of amplitude envelope of the waveform. Understanding acoustic determiners of meaningful-nonspeech-sounds identification may bring new insights into perception generally and may have application to work such as the development of sensory substitution devices for the perceptually handicapped.

Some Sonic-Boom-Induced Building Responses

Results are presented from a series of tests in which a building structure instrumented with microphones, strain gauges, and accelerometers was subjected to sonic booms. The significance of such variables as aircraft Mach number, altitude, and flight direction is discussed. Included for discussion are shock-wave pressure-loading time histories and the associated transient responses of various components of the building. The measured stress levels associated with the range of sonic-boom overpressures estimated for routine military and commercial operations are noted to be relatively small as compared to the design stresses of the building and may be of the same order of magnitude as those associated with such everyday occurrences as door slamming.