Sonic Environment Research Articles

Media persistence: Theories, approaches, categorization

Despite the fact that new media are continually seen as “natural born killers” of old media, old media rarely die and very often persist. In what is alternately called the “age of the Internet,” the “digital revolution,” the “metaverse,” the era of “artificial intelligence,” old media such as books, cinema, radio, television, analogue photography, and several others are still in use. Moreover, there is a kind of re-emergence of “the analogue” in various forms and for different incentives, including nostalgia. This Thematic Section is the outcome of an intellectual journey that the five editors undertook first separately and then combined. The occasion for bringing together prior interests and combining theoretical and empirical understandings of the reasons why and the different modes how media persist over time was facilitated by the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) virtual post-conference (co-)organized jointly by three ECREA sections in September 2021: the Communication History section together with the sections of Radio and Sound, as well as Television Studies. It is no coincidence that these three sections are concerned with old media, which seem to decline but apparently also do persist, as those are the sections dealing with the mediated relationship of the old and the new, the past and the present such as the viewing and screening practices of television, transformation of sonic environment from radio toward podcast, and in general old media remediating into new ones.

Podcasting Taylor

Music podcasts use a variety of listening modes to draw non-musically trained listeners into close readings of songwriting, production, and reception. Taylor Swift has attracted the attention of music podcasters who have devoted individual episodes and entire serial podcast to topics ranging from her celebrity feuds and well-publicized relationships, her autobiographical and deeply referential song texts, her savvy branding strategies and relationships with fans, and her public rejoinders to music industry inequities, such as her Taylor’s Version re-recordings. In the case of several Swift podcasts, these expert listeners are also avid fans, challenge the stereotype that avid pop fans are only amateur listeners. Her fans, notably those who self-identify as Swifties, are also active podcasters. This article is about listening to the sonic environments of fan-driven podcasting and the sonic spaces of fandom through music podcasting. This article engages with the sound and content of fan-driven music podcasting and the listening techniques used by hosts to listen to both the music of the artist where their fandom is centered, as well as the paramusical elements of their star persona and sonic strategies used by hosts to shape a virtual sonic environment where listeners listen with and through the hosts’ embodied listening. Through two case studies, The Swift Talk and Switched on Pop, I demonstrate how fan-driven Swift podcasting is sonically constructed and approaches listening as an inclusive social, analytic, and embodied practice of communicating fan musical knowledge to produce new insights into how listening, songwriting, star persona, and fandom are articulated in fan podcasting.

Static recording apparatus for soundscape analysis in Macau

The concept of Soundscape was initially proposed to study the relationship between humans and their sonic environment. It has gathered momentum from academia to environmentalists and policymakers throughout the years. The study and characterisation of Soundscapes can be complex as it tries to take a holistic and qualitative approach rather than simply quantifying sound pressure levels. This paper introduces a comprehensive Soundscape study process in an ongoing research project in Macao (China), a small territory (32.9 km2) and one of the most densely populated areas in the world. The paper seeks to show a first version of a technical solution to systematically capture the local soundscape, analyse it, classify it, and ultimately deliver a dataset library and the intangible qualities of the environmental sound. This implementation, including technical documentation, code, and sound library with strong labelling, is presented under an open-source license to encourage future collaborative research. Finally, the paper offers suggestions on further developing the apparatus to reach a systematic and near real-time soundscape analysis with the development of a machine learning system.

Soundscape conservation policy focusing on the active listening: An examination based on the case of the Enshu-nada Sea of Japan

This study examines the active nature of listening from the perspective of soundscape conservation. The classical psychophysics views hearing as a passive process, with a stimulus-response relationship. And the ISO definition of soundscape basically follows this scheme. However, this study highlights the significance of active listening, where the listener intentionally seeks information from the sonic environment. In the Enshu region of Japan, which is the case of this research, there is a phenomenon that the sound of waves propagates far and wide, and this knowledge has been passed down through generations tales and folklore. This fact indicates that the people in this region once had a culture in which they actively sought meaning from the sound of waves. In this study, we collaborated with local residents to conduct observations of wave sounds, and some of the collaborators attempted to reconstruct their relationship with wave sounds through the practice of observation. The findings suggest that the act of listening has a significant impact on the formation of context. Therefore, active listening should be considered in soundscape conservation, as well as its relevance to the definition of "context" in the ISO.

Sound augmentation for people with dementia: Soundscape evaluation based on sound labelling

Researchers increasingly look at augmenting soundscapes to reduce Behavioural and Psychological Syndrome of Dementia (BPSD). However, methods to select suitable sounds still need improvement. This study proposes a sound selection methodology to augment the soundscape in nursing homes to lower BPSD, using sound characteristics and recognition methods. To uncover the underlying characteristics of sounds that trigger a positive response, added sounds previously used in nursing homes in Flanders were re-analyzed using a wide range of acoustic and psychoacoustic indices. The results highlight the sound characteristics that lead to positive responses and the need for further studies to understand the sounds most suitable for people with dementia. Results showed that sharpness and high-pitch sounds, such as animal localization or crickets, create a higher chance of a positive response. High-pitched sounds have a higher emergence in a typical nursing home sonic environment, increasing the possibility of being noticed. Sounds recognized as music, however, had a lower chance of a positive response and should be used cautiously. Interestingly, although bird vocalizations are often highly rated in other contexts, the ones considered in the current dataset did not lead to a positive response, highlighting the need for further studies to understand better which sounds are most suitable for people with dementia.

Vital Atmospherics: Sonic City-Making in Africa

ABSTRACT Recent concern for noise in African cities has placed the sonic environment at the center of questions of cityness. This article explores the broadcast of loud music as part of a vital atmospheric which makes the city and sustains everyday life in Gulu, Uganda. I consider everyday Acoli sound concepts wo (noise) and dwan matek (loud sound) with and against concepts of “noise” as it is enacted by environmental regulations concerned with the criminalization of loudness. In so doing, this work brings together sonically rich accounts of African cities and the social density of African sonic worlds with attention to a global South “politics of loudness” and Afrodiasporic sonic geographies. Building from a series of ethnographic encounters, and written in experimental form, this work challenges racialized assumptions embedded in efforts to regulate noise, exploring instead how loud sound generates possibilities for social connection.

Art Is Magic

Art Is Magic

Sonic environment mapping in Tunjungan road Surabaya with soundwalk method

The soundscape analysis, based on the soundwalk method, was carried out at Tunjungan Street, which is one of the historical areas and a place of traffic. A soundwalk is one method that is used to get the impression of a soundscape. The parameters used in the assessment are acoustic parameters and semantic parameters. Acoustic parameters consist of loudness level, dynamic, and IACC. Semantic parameters are subjective judgments using 16 question items that were given by the researcher to the respondent in the questionnaire. The collection of data was done by the respondent in Tunjungan Street, which was divided into five sections or five points, and each point was measured at three times: morning, daytime, and nighttime. From the results of the study, several conclusions were drawn, namely that the morning has the largest loudness level 81 dBA. The highest dynamic span about 15 dBA and the lowest IACC value is 0.51. When daytime, it has larger loudness level and dynamic value, while at the nighttime it has the largest loudness level and IACC values in particular area only. This finding suggests that there are some part that offers comfort acoustically.

The Sound of One Hand Playing: The Sonic Environment of a Zen Training Temple

Zen practice is often associated with aloof silence and introspection. However, any visitor to a Japanese Zen training temple will be surprised by the abundance and richness of the acoustic environment. In effect, every moment of the training schedule is accompanied, chronicled, and choreographed by percussions and chanting vocals. This paper will introduce this sonic environment and explain how different sounds construct the training experience. In particular, I will focus on sound instruments that coordinate daily activities, such as bells, gongs, drums, and the like, arguing that they are essential to Zen practice. The first part of the paper explains the unique characteristics of a Japanese Zen training temple, focusing on ritual sound instruments and their place within the monastic soundspace. The second part examines the meaning of these instruments as described in Zen canonical writing, focusing mainly on Baizang’s monastic regulation and different references to it by Japanese masters throughout history. The third part explores how contemporary monastics understand sound instruments and their function in regulating the body, conveying values, and evoking spiritual transformation.

Loss of place, loss of self: musical heterotopias in Franco’s prisons (1938–1945)

ABSTRACT At the end of the Spanish Civil War, the Fascist Government led by General Franco implemented a regime of extensive suppression over the population. As a result, prisons became overcrowded with thousands of political opponents. From 1938—a year before the end of the armed conflict—to 1943, musical practices were considered a crucial component of the propaganda programmes implemented in prisons to control and re-educate the inmates. In response to this official sonic environment, prisoners also cultivated their own musical practices as a means of preserving their self-identities. The initial section of the article offers a brief overview of the living conditions experienced in Spanish prisons during Franco’s regime. In the subsequent part, I delve into the significance of the unofficial musical practices developed by detainees, examining their relationship to concepts such as space, place, heterotopia, and the ‘construction of the self’. Due to the state’s ability to exert epistemic violence by suppressing individuals and groups’ capacity to speak or be heard, these unofficial musical practices can be regarded as cultural artefacts that emerged as a means of resistance against the propaganda enforced by the Franco government.

Soundscape

Recent studies demonstrate a significant level of interest to literature as a source of insight on sound and hearing. Attention has focused on the new ways to approach the acoustic dimensions of text, featuring narrative representation of sound in its physical characteristics and the psycho-somatic peculiarities of perception. Accordingly, the concept of soundscape, has entered critical scholarship to analyze the audible world in fiction. This essay addresses soundscape as a concept by scrutinizing the terms in which it was defined and situating soundscape in relation to nineteenth-century Gothic literature. My point of departure is the foundational work of R. Murray Schafer The Soundscape: Our Sonic Environment and the Tuning of the World (1977), which introduces the concept and outlines the territory of soundscape studies as the intersection of science, the arts and society, and delineates terms central to the idea of the soundscape. I will elaborate on soundscape in its threefold dimensions: the panoply of sounds, the specific location, and the subjective experience of an individual inhabiting the space. The essay then considers the concept in light of the recent studies of sound in Gothic fiction and narrows down the topic to selected short stories by British and American nineteenth-century writers: E.A. Poe, E. Nesbit, S. Warren, and M.P. Shiel, among others. The shared features of the audible world in Gothic short stories and more distinctive elements of Gothic soundscapes offer some resources for thinking about a more complex elaboration of the concept, as well as implications and future directions for scholarly work.

“How will God hear us?”: Sonic and linguistic difference among Kinshasa’s Églises des Noirs

AbstractThis article studies how anti-Christian, ‘traditionally African’ organizations, locally known as Églises des Noirs, navigate religious competition in the Congolese capital through sonic and linguistic strategies. It focuses on the understudied Mpadist community, a ‘dissident’ branch of the better known Kimbanguist church. Mpadists mobilize diverging appreciations and meanings of sound and language to set themselves apart from the dominant Lingalaphone Pentecostal loudness of the city. In doing so, they pursue a delicate balance between Kongo traditionalism, the source of their spiritual legitimacy, rooted in colonial prophetic movements, and tactics of ‘modern’ community making in order to remain competitive within Kinshasa’s prolific religious setting. The article argues that ideologies of sound and language should be analysed within the same nexus, for they operate and are operationalized in similar ways. It therefore proposes to expand the sociolinguistic notion of indexicality to incorporate elements of the volume and modalities of sound making. The article also shows that sonic and linguistic ideologies are bound by context. In Kinshasa’s ‘low-fi’ soundscape, the indexical values of the languages Kikongo and Lingala, and of unamplified and amplified sound production, share similar features, yet they are evaluated differently in rural ‘hi-fi’ sonic environments.

How do urban policies shape atmosphere? A multimethod inquiry of the sonic environment

ABSTRACT The effect of urban policies on the atmosphere of urban areas is rarely documented. Mobilizing the concept of atmosphere, this article takes a sonic lens to put forward a sensorial understanding of how urban policies shape city users’ sonic experiences and impact the perceived liveliness and attractiveness of public spaces. Reporting on a case study in Mestre (Venice, Italy), we study the effect of two urban policies on the sonic environments in the historic center and on the uses of public space within its pedestrianized area. Through surveys, interviews and recordings, we show how urban policies contribute to the formation of atmosphere.

Listening otherwise: From “silent tourism” soundscapes to privileged sonic ways of knowing

This paper explores quests for silence in tourism in English-language online media. We offer a reading of media forms all articulating a soundscape of silence: a preferred sonic environment for tourists’ health and well-being. A relational and reflexive approach allows us to interrogate these taken-for-granted desired silences, and to emplace ourselves in the analysis. Using critical discourse analysis, we try to listen to the sounds produced in the texts, and to write with, and about, the sounds that resonate with us, to disrupt the naturalization implicit to the silent tourism soundscapes. Such calls for silent tourism use vocabularies that reproduce a universalistic aurality and binaries of wanted/unwanted, silence/noise, nonhuman/human, good/bad that moralize and objectify. Relational ontology and feminist critiques of “soundscape” help us to rethink silent tourism as ways of knowing. Ultimately, in the media we reflect on and are not separate from sonic ways of knowing seem very much entangled with wealth, privilege, individualism, and settler positionalities.

Soundscape components inform acoustic index patterns and refine estimates of bird species richness

Ecoacoustic monitoring has proliferated as autonomous recording units (ARU) have become more accessible. ARUs provide a non-invasive, passive method to assess ecosystem dynamics related to vocalizing animal behavior and human activity. With the ever-increasing volume of acoustic data, the field has grappled with summarizing ecologically meaningful patterns in recordings. Almost 70 acoustic indices have been developed that offer summarized measurements of bioacoustic activity and ecosystem conditions. However, their systematic relationships to ecologically meaningful patterns in varying sonic conditions are inconsistent and lead to non-trivial interpretations. We used an acoustic dataset of over 725,000 min of recordings across 1,195 sites in Sonoma County, California, to evaluate the relationship between 15 established acoustic indices and sonic conditions summarized using five soundscape components classified using a convolutional neural network: anthropophony (anthropogenic sounds), biophony (biotic sounds), geophony (wind and rain), quiet (lack of emergent sound), and interference (ARU feedback). We used generalized additive models to assess acoustic indices and biophony as ecoacoustic indicators of avian diversity. Models that included soundscape components explained acoustic indices with varying degrees of performance (avg. adj-R2 = 0.61 ± 0.16; n = 1,195). For example, we found the normalized difference soundscape index was the most sensitive index to biophony while being less influenced by ambient sound. However, all indices were affected by non-biotic sound sources to varying degrees. We found that biophony and acoustic indices combined were highly predictive in modeling bird species richness (deviance = 65.8%; RMSE = 3.9 species; n = 1,185 sites) for targeted, morning-only recording periods. Our analyses demonstrate the confounding effects of non-biotic soundscape components on acoustic indices, and we recommend that applications be based on anticipated sonic environments. For instance, in the presence of extensive rain and wind, we suggest using an index minimally affected by geophony. Furthermore, we provide evidence that a measure of biodiversity (bird species richness) is related to the aggregate biotic acoustic activity (biophony). This established relationship adds to recent work that identifies biophony as a reliable and generalizable ecoacoustic measure of biodiversity.

The effects of diningscape on customer satisfaction and word of mouth

PurposeRestaurant dining is an important part of people's live, and the restaurant industry is one of the largest industries in the hospitality sector. Thus, this study explores the effects of restaurant diningscape on customer satisfaction and word of mouth.Design/methodology/approachBased on a literature review on restaurant servicescape and special functions of dining spaces, diningscape was conceptualized as a multidimensional construct. Data were collected from 378 restaurant patrons using snowball sampling in Macao, China. The validity and reliability of constructs were assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modeling was used to validate the proposed hypotheses between constructs.FindingsResults showed that diningscape has a second-order factor structure consisting of five dimensions, namely food and drinks, service quality, servicescape, social functions and soundscape. Diningscape positively influences customer satisfaction and word of mouth.Practical implicationsSocial function is the dominant factor of diningscape while female customers are more sensitive towards food and drinks, service quality, servicescape and soundscape. Thus, restaurants should not overcrowd their premises. Additionally, restaurants must strive to provide a wide variety of food and drinks, show service intimacy and be decorated specially with appropriate sonic environment as female customers can have a big influence on where to dine.Originality/valueThe study reveals that diningscape is multidimensional and shall be characterized in a holistic manner. Additionally, it helps restaurant managers to focus on the more important features, such as social functions, and food and drinks that customers value most.

From the ready room to the battle bus: exploring militarisation through gamespace soundwalks in Fortnite

ABSTRACT While its candy-coated shell may provide a clever camouflage for younger markets, this paper acknowledges that militarisation has been made pleasurable in more sensuous ways. Deploying gamespace soundwalking as a method, we attune to the ways Fortnite's sound design rehearses the neoliberal citizen-soldier on a sonic dimension. Yet, its capitalist priorities both corner youth markets while letting young players experiment with counterplay. To arrive at this conclusion, this paper illustrates the application of a novel method within game and sound studies – gamespace soundwalking. In the case of Fornite where the narrative context is individual military victory, the affective atmosphere ought to be one of keen attention to warfare, ambience and combat events. But how is war specifically depicted there? What is the significance of the sonic environment in forming a sense of place? We argue that method must take us beyond a semiotic analysis of the sonic components of Fortnite; we need a real-time ethnographic exploration of gameplay. In so doing, we tune in to Fortnite's ear-candy sound design as it exemplifies neoliberal standardisation of sound environments – masking grizzly conflict zones – as well as consumptive priorities that reach spectacular levels and the militarised Taylorist perfection of the citizen-soldier.

First Description of the Underwater Sounds in the Mediterranean Monk Seal Monachus monachus in Greece: Towards Establishing a Vocal Repertoire.

The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus is one of the most endangered pinnipeds in the world, and is classified as "Endangered" by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Any additional knowledge about the species is invaluable to its effective conservation. In the present study, we deployed an autonomous underwater recorder in an important reproductive area of the Mediterranean monk seal in Greece to describe its underwater vocal repertoire. Over the 330 h of continuous recordings, 9231 vocalizations were labelled as potentially produced by Mediterranean monk seals, and 1694 good quality calls were analyzed. We defined 18 call types divided into three main call categories: harmonic, noisy, and pulsative calls. We also described the soundscape in which this endangered species lives and found that human activities around the two main pupping caves had a strong impact on the sonic environment of these seals: the noise level produced by boat traffic was high, and occurred on an hourly (25 to 50 min/hour) and daily basis (10.8 to 16.9 h/day). Such high levels of noise might not only impair the communication of the species, but also impact its survival, as chronic noise can induce physiological stress.

Soundscape of war

Soundscape refers to the perception of the sonic environment; the recent pandemic has changed our perception of our living environment and reminded us of the need to study unpredicted and unpleasant soundscapes. For many, the pandemic brought quietness and a lack of stimuli; however, the soundscape was chaotic and fearful for healthcare workers and frontline workers. The experience also reminded us that there are neglected soundscapes to evaluate. One acoustic environment rarely studied or evaluated is the soundscape of war. There is insufficient attention to the auditory sensation of horror and terror caused by conflicts. When talking about the soundscape of war not referring to sonophobia, as one may not fear loud noises, yet being in the conflict has its specific auditory effect. How to use soundscape methods to evaluate the war soundscape? When soundwalk and interview are not practical, what will be the best way to evaluate the soundscape? Where are terror and horror in eight scale evaluation of pleasant, chaotic, vibrant, uneventful, calm, annoying, eventful and monotonous? There are studies on the effect of sound on veterans with PTSD, but not on people living in war zones. Should research use Virtual Reality to evaluate the soundscape of war? The goal is to find ways to assess the short-term and long-term effects of war soundscape on people and to find ways to improve their well-being.

Measuring the Soundscape Quality in Urban Spaces: A Case Study of Historic Urban Area

The goals of a good soundscape are to create a sense of place, provide comfort to the users, and encourage intractability in a public space. At the same time, many public areas in cities are having problems due to the weakness in creating the opportunity for people to attend. Therefore, knowing the importance of the subject, this study has measured the aspects of the sonic environment and investigated its effect on the attendance of 15 Khordad Street, District 12, Tehran. The results of this study showed that attendance in urban spaces based on the aspects of the sonic environment focuses on the quality of the surrounding environment as a source of sound. By assessing the perceptual and sensory aspects of sounds in the environment, it is possible to understand the effects of sound on the behaviors, activities, and overall pleasantness of the space for the users. Based on the three statistical communities related to the study, among the key findings, we show that the majority of attendance to the case area was for the purpose of studying, shopping, and work, and despite the fact that this case study is a historic area, people are less willing to attend it. This street, part of which is designed as a pedestrian area, encourages individualism, and not bringing friends and family along is reinforced by unpleasant psychological effects. Since nowadays the problems of the sonic environment are expanding in cities, and noise pollution in some parts of Tehran is considered a major environmental problem, the findings of this study have taken a step to increase urban sustainability and try to improve the main criteria and results, which were to rationally evaluate the existing situation of attendance in urban spaces affected by the qualities of the sonic environment, to promote the policy and strategic city planning for city managers.