Sound Comfort Research Articles

Interplay of perception, behavior, and sound: analyzing music activities in urban open spaces

This study conducted an exploratory investigation into the impacts of music activities in urban open spaces, focusing on the interrelations between perception, behavior, and A-weighted sound pressure levels (LAeq) associated with these activities. Utilizing observational and questionnaire methods, the research categorized music activities into dynamic (e.g., dancing) and static (e.g., singing) types. It revealed significant differences in participant numbers, age demographics, and LAeq between the two categories. Results indicated that dynamic music activities typically attracted an older participant and had lower LAeq than static activities. However, participants in dynamic activities reported lower levels of sound comfort and spatial satisfaction. Within dynamic music activities, a negative correlation was found between LAeq and sound comfort, whereas no significant correlation was observed in static music activities. Additionally, participant numbers in dynamic activities showed no relation to sound pressure levels, which increased with the activity area. Conversely, in static activities, both participant numbers and activity area were found to positively influence LAeq. The study also discovered that for both dynamic and static music activities, the lower the LAeq were when the people's formation approached a circular shape. This research offers valuable insights into understanding the acoustic environment and participant experience in urban open spaces.

The Working Environment in Primary Healthcare Outpatient Facilities: Assessment of Physical Factors and Health Professionals' Perceptions of Working Environment Conditions.

The objectives of this study were to assess the adequacy of physical parameters/factors (temperature, relative humidity, noise, and illuminance levels) of the work environment in PHC facilities, to evaluate the association between the adequacy of these measured physical parameters and the physical characteristics of the PHC facilities and their surroundings and to assess the association between health professionals' perceptions about exposure to physical risks in the PHC work environment and the adequacy of physical parameters measured in the same facilities. The study monitored 23 PHC facilities in southern Brazil and interviewed 210 health professionals. Data analysis involved Pearson's chi-square, Fisher's exact test, Spearman's correlation, and multivariate linear regression analysis was used to control for confounding factors. The significance level was set at 5% (p ≤ 0.05). The combination of temperature and relative humidity presented thermal comfort levels outside the adopted criteria for adequacy in consultation (outdoor relative humidity, p = 0.013) and procedure rooms (front door open, p = 0.034). Inadequate sound comfort (noise) levels in the morning shift were found in the vaccination (front door open, p = 0.021) and consultation rooms (movement of people, p = 0.016). In PHC facilities where reception rooms had insufficient lighting, internal curtains were opened less frequently (p = 0.047). The analysis of health professionals' perceptions of physical factors demonstrated that physicians more frequently perceive the physical risk of temperature and humidity (p = 0.044). The higher the number of nurses (p = 0.004) and oral health technicians in the PHC facilities (p = 0.031), the greater the general percentage of adequacy of monitored physical parameters. It was also confirmed that the higher the perception of moderate or severe physical risk among health professionals, the lower the general percentage of the adequacy of the physical parameters of the work environment of the PHC facilities evaluated (rs = -0.450, p = 0.031). This study's evidence contributes to a better understanding of physical conditions and future occupational interventions to ensure the comfort, safety, and well-being of PHC workers.

USE OF AUDIOMARKETING TO PROMOTE THE SERVICES OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY

The aim of the study is to substantiate the importance and peculiarities of using audio marketing tools to promote tourism services in the tourism industry. The article proves that the use of neuroimaging methods in marketing is gaining popularity, as it provides marketers with information that cannot be obtained using conventional marketing methods. Musical content is increasingly integrated into the marketing communications system, covers the points of interaction with tourists, and contributes to the personalization of audiocommunication. It has been determined that audio marketing is an important element of modern marketing strategies, and its tools not only influence the behavior and psycho-emotional state of consumers of tourism services, but also significantly enhance the effectiveness of other marketing tools aimed at obtaining the expected result. Well-chosen music helps to improve interaction and form a positive perception of tourism products and services among tourists, creates sound comfort, ensures a good mood, enhances positive impressions, builds commitment, increases loyalty, extends the time of stay, and increases both planned and spontaneous purchases. The article substantiates that the choice of background music is of great importance in the formation of audio design, which provides tourists with positive emotions, creates an appropriate atmosphere and a pleasant overall impression. It is proved that in order to achieve an effective result of music's influence on consumers of tourist services, producers of tourist services need to constantly conduct marketing research on the needs and behavior of tourists; monitor and analyze the impact of music on tourist behavior; and conduct training and professional development of marketers.

A Feedback Active Control Approach to Road Noise Based on a Single Microphone Sensor to Improve Automotive Cabin Sound Comfort.

Tire-road noise deteriorates the sound quality of a vehicle's interior and affects the driving safety and comfort. Obtaining low interior noise is a challenge for passenger car manufacturers. Traditional passive noise control (PNC) is efficient for canceling high frequency noise but not useful for low frequency noise, while active noise control (ANC), according to the residual error signal, can generate an anti-noise signal to reduce the original noise. Most research has focused on improving the control effect for a feedforward ANC system. However, this paper emphasizes a feedback ANC system based on a signal microphone sensor. There are two main contributions in this study to improve automotive cabin sound comfort. One is that the algorithm of the feedback ANC system using a single microphone sensor without a reference noise signal is proposed based on the Filtered-x Least Mean Square method. The other is that the algorithm applies additive random noise online to estimate the secondary path model. A simulation was implemented based on measured real road noise data, and the simulation results indicate that the proposed feedback ANC system with the single microphone sensor can effectively attenuate road noise. This study shows the feasibility of applying a feedback ANC system in automobiles to increase the cabin sound quality.

ANALYSIS OF THE DEGREE OF STUDY AND GLOBAL EXPERIENCE IN OPTIMIZING URBAN NOISE POLLUTION

А collection and analysis of domestic and international publications on the impact of noise pollution on the physical and emotional well-being of mega-city residents were conducted. It was found that noise pollution directly affects the quality of life and the physical and mental health of people, leading to significant economic losses through medical expenses, deaths, and a decrease in the market value of real estate located near noise sources. Moreover, it was discovered that noise negatively influences not only the physical well-being of humans but also the behavior of urban animals and birds, compelling them to adapt their mating rituals and communication methods. While these behavioral changes help animals be more audible in noisy environments, they impact the reproductive success of certain species, potentially leading to their extinction and causing an ecological catastrophe. The study identified a global trend of lagging efforts to combat urban noise and solve problems only after their existence is acknowledged. The research explored the primary internationally recognized and widely used tools for reducing noise levels in urban environments, including methods within the field of landscape architecture: functional zoning of urban areas, construction of noise reduction screens (NRS), installation of noise-absorbing road surfaces, traffic restrictions, or speed limits, and the creation of green barriers, among others. Furthermore, the article outlined the main trends in the future development of improving sound comfort in cities, such as the establishment of "quiet zones" and the creation of unique soundscapes in contemporary mega-cities. Examples include the iconic sounds of Big Ben in London or the call to prayer from the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, which provide emotionally rich experiences. In a broader sense, acoustic comfort should not be considered solely as the absence of noise but rather as a situation where acoustic environments offer significant opportunities for human development and careful consideration of their physical and mental well-being.

Synergetic Effect of Vehicle Interior Sound and Design on Comfortability in Cabin

Vehicle interior noise have been quiet by the development of noise and vibration reduction technique. This noise will become quieter by the engine rest in electric vehicle. Hence, vehicle occupants may expect much more comfort in cabin as if they are in living room. In addition, not only the auditory stimulus but also visual stimulus is considered to have important role for the comfortability in cabin. In this study, we then focused on the comfortability in cabin and investigated influence of vehicle interior sound and design on comfortability using VR system. In the test, various virtual interior design and interior sound recorded binaurally at cruising condition were presented in the VR system and the sound, design and total comfortability was assessed through subjective evaluation test. As the result, both sound and design comfort were observed to be essential to increase the total comfortability and synergetic effect between them was found. This indicates that the influence of sound comfort to total comfortability changes according to the design comfort. Furthermore, soft-smooth interior sound and dark-solid interior design were clarified to improve the total comfort.

Merenje kvaliteta vazduha i termalnog komfora u kancelarijama primenom low-cost senzora i monitora

The subjective experience of the environment where people live defines the comfort of that environment. The elements of environmental comfort are the air quality, thermal comfort, visual comfort, and sound comfort. The air quality in the room where people stay can significantly affect their concentration, i.e., the ability to work and study. The concentration of CO 2 in the room is used as an indicator of ventilation, that is, as an indicator of the air quality in the observed room. The thermal comfort defines a state of satisfaction with the thermal environment. The thermal comfort is achieved when the environment properties are such that they ensure the release of BAKAR 48 (2023) 1 COPPER body heat within the comfortable limits. This paper presents a part of the air quality and thermal comfort measurement results in the selected office in the Mining and Metallurgy Institute Bor from 2020 to 2022. Based on the analysis of measurement results, it was determined that the air quality in the selected office was satisfactory on an average of more than 90% of the working time, and the thermal comfort on an average of about 60% of the working time.

Evaluation of Campus Soundscape Construction

With the vigorous construction of beautiful China and the rise of soundscape research, the application of soundscape in campus environment becomes gradually widespread. The article takes the small garden of the No. 1 teaching building in the North Campus of Henan Polytechnic University as an example, and conducts a study on the soundscape of colleges and universities based on objective sound pressure level measurement and subjective questionnaire research. The objective measurement results show that the average noise value of the garden during daytime is 63dB (A), which is higher than the national standard of 55dB (A). The results of the questionnaire survey indicated that people's overall satisfaction with the soundscape at this location was not highly rated and some degree of soundscape improvement was needed. Accordingly, the article investigates the relationship between sound comfort and sound pressure level, and adopts optimization measures in three aspects: vegetation planning strategy, characteristic soundscape shaping, and environmental material improvement, in order to provide reference for the study of university soundscape.

Звуковое пространство городов-курортов Кавказских Минеральных Вод

Introduction. The article investigates the sound space of resort towns in Caucasus Mineral Waters by the example of the two largest of them, namely Pyatigorsk and Kislovodsk. The concept of the sound space of the city is considered, the main modern aspects of sound research in the city are highlighted. Based on the collected field data, an attempt is made to qualitatively assess the sound environment of cities, especially important for resort towns. For the central parts of the cities, the differentiation of the sound space was carried out, reflecting the type of social use of the territories. Materials and research methods. The data of field measurements of sound in cities were obtained during the field practice of geography students in socio-economic geography in 2022. The cartographic method, normative approach and typology are used in the course of the study. Research results and their discussion. The sound space of the studied resort towns has typical features of modern Russian cities. The resort function is not reflected in the sound space. The main factors of its formation are transport highways, human and commercial activities. Recreational areas are more comfortable in terms of sound, having their own internal specifics. In general, the level of noise pollution depends on the types of prevailing sounds in the territory. A microgeographic study of the central resort parts of the cities showed a complete lack of understanding and requirements for sound comfort. Conclusions. In urban studies, there is an increase in interest in sound in the city, the allocation of sound space and its cultural and geographical differences. Sound can identify universal socio-cultural structures, act as a source of conceptual and methodological constructions. Sound studies help comprehend existing social practices and their contexts. The resort towns of the Caucasus Mineral Waters were founded without taking into account the comfort of the sound environment. As a result, the characteristics of their sound space do not differ from ordinary cities.

The TRANSIT project: innovation towards train pass-by noise source characterisation and separation tools

The TRANSIT project: innovation towards train pass-by noise source characterisation and separation tools

Evaluation of the Perception and Experience of Rural Natural Landscape among Youth Groups: An Empirical Analysis from Three Villages around Hefei

Research on the perception and evaluation degree that the rural natural landscape plays an important role in improving rural sustainable development and construction. However, the views of young people, who play a key role in social development, on the natural landscape of the countryside have been neglected. Based on the perspective of the rural natural landscape in China, this study combines the field research of Ma Ying, San Shi Gang, and Shen Fu villages around Hefei, Anhui Province, and constructs a perception and experience evaluation index and questionnaire of the rural natural landscape from four dimensions of rural landscape ecology, water environment, climate, and sound. Through the online questionnaire, 316 questionnaires were distributed to young people aged 18 to 35 years old, and 283 valid questionnaires were recovered with an effective recovery rate of 89.56%. The Cronbach coefficient was 0.954, and the KMO value was 0.968. The reliability and validity were good. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) combined with the entropy method was used to calculate the weight of each index and analyze the influencing factors of young people’s perception evaluation of the rural landscape. Firstly, young people have a good perception of rural climate conditions, but the planning and layout of rural landscape ecology need to be improved. Secondly, sound comfort, air cleanliness, and landscape adaptation in a rural environment are the key factors that affect young people’s perception and experience of rural areas. Thirdly, improving the adaptability of the rural natural landscape to the local environment and the richness of vegetation is conducive to improving young people’s favorable understanding of the rural environment.

Influence of green areas on the microclimate of the contiguous urban perimeter

The daily pressures exerted by urban centers, added to the absence of green areas, end up promoting great damage to the quality of life of the resident population. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of a green park in the central area in Dourados, MS, Brazil, on thermal and sound comfort through environmental indicators. The following measurements were taken: air temperature, relative air humidity, light incidence, and noise variation at sampling points in the Arnulpho Fioravante green park and adjacent areas. The thermal discomfort index (TDI), which considers the variables air temperature and relative air humidity, was also adopted. TDI and noise results indicated that the park has little influence on adjacent areas. On the other hand, the park area with the highest plant density showed significant TDI values, classifying it between “feeling comfortable” and “feeling partially uncomfortable.” Areas of the city and the park without vegetation had many “feeling uncomfortable” ratings. Moreover, the vegetation may have acted as a filter to minimize urban noise. Our results indicate that urban green areas are important components in maintaining the population’s quality of life, provided they have good planning and management of available forest resources.

Prediction and Evaluation of Park Sound Comfort Based on Back Propagation Neural Network

Prediction and Evaluation of Park Sound Comfort Based on Back Propagation Neural Network

Using rectified linear unit and swish based artificial neural networks to describe noise transfer in a full vehicle context.

Vehicle interior noise is a quality criterion of passenger cars. A considerable amount of resources is used to evaluate and design the acoustic environment with respect to given requirements. The customer's perception in the end-of-line vehicle is the main criterion. Therefore, full vehicle testing is a large part of today's sound comfort development. To increase efficiency, it is desirable to limit the hardware testing to a specific component. A later reassembly of the full vehicle is done virtually using transfer functions. These transfer functions of the substructures can be derived numerically or through measurements. However, full vehicle simulations are still challenging. Hence, transfer functions are typically measured but come with the burden of complex procedures. In this work, the authors propose a machine learning algorithm to reduce the effort for finding suitable transfer models in the automotive context. Artificial neural networks with rectified linear unit and swish activation functions are trained on full vehicle measurements. Multiple operation conditions are used for training. The networks compute spectral system responses and relative sensitivities for the input features. The performance is discussed with respect to the full vehicle validation data. The results indicate an effective procedure to reduce the costs of full-size vehicle measurements.

Analysis of the characteristics of noise from substations in buildings

The urbanization has resulted in an increasing number of transformer stations, which has resulted insignificant building noise problems. However, noise problems persist because of inadequate noise characterization and the use of imperfect noise evaluation indexes for centralized substations. Based on this problem, a transformer vibration noise coupling analysis method based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and spectrum analysis is proposed in this study. The proposed method accurately and effectively screens and characterizes transformer noise and provides a theoretical basis for transformer noise reduction. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, a transformer was reconstructed as an example. It was found that the low-frequency noise from the transformer was mainly caused by vibrations with a frequency below 500 Hz, particularly frequencies of 300 Hz and 100 Hz and 50 Hz. Through the calculation and analysis of eigenvalues, the noise reduction measures focusing on vibration reduction were proposed. In the end, a noise reduction of 10 dB was achieved, which meets the comfort requirements. This method can accurately and effectively identify the characteristics of transformer noise, which makes up for the insufficiency of transformer characteristics analysis in the past. Provide guidance for perfecting transformer noise evaluation index. Practical implication: The noise problem caused by substations is getting more and more serious. Conventional noise detection and noise reduction methods can no longer meet people’s requirements for sound comfort. The coupling analysis method of vibration and noise based on EMD and spectrum analysis proposed in this study can effectively extract the characteristics of transformer noise. It provides theoretical support for the noise reduction transformation of transformers, and solves the problem that the current engineering noise reduction transformation has no theoretical basis. Noise characteristic analysis can make up for the shortcomings of existing acoustic comfort indicators that only use sound pressure level as the evaluation indicator.

Influence of automobile sealing rib structure on sound insulation performance and optimization of section parameters

The door sealing strip plays an important role in the sound insulation of the car, and its sound insulation performance has a great influence on the sound quality and comfort of the vehicle. The sound insulation performance of the seal can be analyzed by Finite Element-Statistic Energy Analysismodel. There are great differences in the cross-section of the door sealing strip system at different positions, which leads to the difference of sound insulation. Therefore, it is very important to study the sound insulation performance of the sealing strip by studying the parameters of different sections. This paper explores the influence of the structure of automobile sealing rib on the sound insulation performance. Taking the sound power of the receiving end of the sealing strip as the index, the orthogonal optimization test is carried out for the simplified section shape of the door seal strip: the wall thickness of the sealing strip, the height of the sealing strip and the rib length. The optimal combination of a set of sealing strip sections is established, and the sound insulation performance of the sealing strip is improved.

Review of the air pollution from the perspective of sound comfort in the coastal space. Case study of the Boboca Monument, Manado City

Continuous exposure to an area with a sound above the threshold level is one of the triggers for noise pollution in public spaces. Public spaces are spaces where people of all ages gather for leisure activities, recreation, etc. The purpose of this study was to find the average dBA value of noise, community perceptions regarding the comfort of sound in coastal public spaces, and the relationship between the dBA value and the existing sound comfort standards. The focus of this research is to contribute to a public space that is free from noise pollution. The study was conducted on the coast of Manado, precisely in the Boboca monument area, using mixed methods through the formula LAeq 10 minutes and Leq daylight to get the standard value of noise. The results found noise numbers in the range 77.4 – 80.2 dBA, this value has exceeded the required standard of 50 dBA, and the results of the perception are also supportive, which is dominant in public perception. It means that coastal public spaces in the Boboca monument area have been exposed to noise pollution.

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SOUND REPRODUCTION SYSTEMS FOR LISTENING TESTS USED IN THE SUBJECTIVE EVALUATION OF SOUND INSULATION

This article does not present an in-depth overview but is meant to serve as an introduction to the newcomers to this field of acoustics. A brief explanation is given for different sound reproduction formats (Ambisonics and binaural), together with some of the standards, and listening test tools used in the design of listening tests. Primarily the listening tests in the field of subjective evaluation of sound insulation and acoustic comfort have been discussed.

Effect of Birdsong Soundscape on Perceived Restorativeness in an Urban Park.

Natural soundscapes have beneficial effects on the perceived restorativeness of an environment. This study examines the effect of birdsong, a common natural soundscape, on perceived restorativeness in Harbin Sun Island Park in China. Eight sites were selected and a series of questionnaire surveys on perceived restorativeness soundscape scale (PRSS) of four birdsong types were conducted during summer and winter. Two-hundred and forty respondents participated in this survey. Analysis of the survey results shows that different types of birdsong have different perceived restorativeness effects in different seasons. Crow birdsong has the worst effect on the perceived restorativeness in both summer and winter. Moreover, sound comfort and preference are significantly associated with the perceived restorativeness. The perceived restorativeness soundscape is best when birdsong is at a height of 4 m rather than 0.5 m or 2 m. The demographic/social factors of age, education, and stress level are all correlated with perceived restorativeness. There are suggestions for urban park design, especially with constructed natural elements. Creating a suitable habitat for multiple species of birds will improve perceived restorativeness. Moreover, appropriate activities should be provided in city parks to ensure restorativeness environments, especially for subjects with high levels of education and stress.

Investigation and Measurement Analysis of Campus Noise Pollution Based on a University in Hengyang

In view of the increasingly serious problem of noise pollution in students’ life and study in the process of building campus culture, this paper analyzed the acoustic environment and acoustic comfort of a college in Hengyang by means of questionnaires, on-site measurement and mathematical model evaluation. After field measurement, the survey found that students are mainly concentrated in dormitory, teaching building and library. The over-standard rates for each location were 87.5%, 54.2%/50%, and 37.5%, respectively. Then this paper used the mathematical model based on fuzzy matrix method to calculate that the membership degree of college acoustic environmental quality belongs to slight pollution is the largest, which is 0.3775. It is advised that relevant departments should adopt a restriction strategy on the noise source to change the acoustic environment and sound comfort of the school.