Which aspects of soundscape can the soundscape attributes measure?
Time: 6:20 am
Author: Koji Nagahata
Abstract ID: 2001
The eight perceptual attributes for soundscape assessment provided in ISO/TS 12913-2: 2018 are widely used in recent soundscape studies. Several studies across the language showed that the basic structure of the soundscape appraisal two-dimension space obtained from the attributes are robust. However, this robustness of the basic structure only means the robustness of the linguistic structure of the eight perceptual attributes, and never means those attributes cover the whole human perception of the soundscapes. Some studies suggest there are some appraisal scales which cannot be expressed in the two-dimensional appraisal space. This study discusses which aspects of soundscape can the soundscape attributes measure.
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Development of a feedback interface for in-situ soundscape evaluation
Time: 6:40 pm
Author: Furi Andi Karnapi
Abstract ID: 2084
Studies involving subjective evaluation require feedback from human participants to assess the performance of a system or an environment. A participant is typically presented with a set of metrics to be observed and they present their assessment accordingly. Investigator-led in-situ soundscape evaluation in ISO 12913-2 collects perceptual responses along with other acoustical and locale information. This is a labor intensive and time-consuming processes. To alleviate and complement investigator-led evaluations, a portable and compact feedback system with an e-ink display and capacitive buttons was designed, and is undergoing field tests to address the aforementioned requirements. The system employs a low-cost, low-power microcontroller unit (MCU) with necessary hardware interfaces to enable capacitive sensing. Capacitive buttons provide an intuitive interface and avoid the inherent wear and tear of mechanical buttons. This digitized feedback interface affords the flexibility to synchronize (wired or wirelessly) with a playback system to evaluate an augmented soundscape, and is suitable for both supervised and unsupervised subjective assessments.
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Assessment of inter-IC sound microelectromechanical systems microphones for soundscape reporting
Time: 7:00 pm
Author: Trevor Wong
Abstract ID: 2086
Acoustic parameters obtained from calibrated acoustic equipment are part of the minimum soundscape reporting requirements as stated in Annex A of ISO 12913-2. To dynamically monitor the acoustic environment of a large area, a large network of acoustic sensors could be deployed, albeit at significant cost. Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) microphones offer compact, low-cost and high-performance alternatives to traditional analog microphones. In particular, the use of Inter-IC Sound (IS) communication allows MEMS microphones to be conveniently used in concert with I2S output interfaces for sound actuation. The performance of several IS MEMS Microphones was compared to that of an IEC 61094-4:1996 WS2F microphone in an anechoic chamber and a series of digital filters was designed to compensate for the differences in frequency response. The noise floor, compensated frequency response, acoustic parameter accuracy of IS MEMS were evaluated and recommendations regarding the suitability of the IS MEMS were provided.
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An objective assessment method and experiment on the impact of road traffic noise on the soundscape: The case of West Lake
Time: 7:40 pm
Author: Jiping Zhang
Abstract ID: 2244
A positively judged soundscape generally includes both natural and social/cultural sounds in the sonic environment. Road traffic noise (RTN) is a major source of sound that may impact the both, such as the case of West Lake. Many studies examine soundscapes contexts with RTN based on physical descriptors, and subjective social scientific assessments by their descriptors mainly using onsite questionnaires to develop an understanding of the situation. By application of an objective evaluation method borrowed from speech intelligibility measurement techniques defined as the signal-to-noise-ratio-loss in the presence of RTN, research of the correlation between background RTN and environmental soundscape is developed by a self contained and evident proof derivation, proposed an objective evaluation method for protecting the soundscape from RTN, and presented the design and performance of an experiment to verify the method at two roads where RTN is propagated a distance into two roadside urban parks at West Lake. Our goal is the assessment and protection of the environmental soundscape from RTN using a convenient objective evaluation method that supplements cumbersome subjective investigations, provides an early warning concerning the RTN impact to the soundscape, and a tool how to improve the soundscape within the RTN impacted areas.
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The effects of aural and visual factors on appropriateness ratings of residential spaces in an urban city.
Time: 6:00 am
Author: Kay Ann Tan
Abstract ID: 3048
This study investigates the aural and visual factors that influence appropriateness perception in soundscape evaluations in residential spaces, where people may spend most of their time in. Appropriateness in soundscape is derived from the expectation of sound sources in a specific environment, place or function heard by a listener. Appropriateness of soundscapes in 30 locations in an urban residential environment is investigated with varying landscape, visual and aural elements through a questionnaire. Participants experienced the soundscape in-situ and were asked to evaluate the appropriateness of soundscape as well as the dominance of specific sound sources such as traffic, human activities and birdsongs in the residential space. The effect of type of traffic on appropriateness is also investigated. A strong relationship is found between appropriateness and affective soundscape qualities such as pleasantness, highlighting the importance of considering appropriateness in soundscape research. In audio-visual combination of specific elements and the partial correlation with appropriateness, specific aural sound sources are found to correlate uniquely to appropriateness while controlling for relevant visual elements, whereas visual elements became redundant in its partial correlation to appropriateness. Residents perception of appropriateness is found to likely be more dependent on the individual visual elements rather than the overall landscape. This study investigates the factors that influences appropriateness perceptual in soundscape evaluations in residential spaces, where people may spend most of their time in. Appropriateness in soundscape is derived from the expectation of sound sources in a specific environment, place or function and heard by a listener. The appropriateness of soundscapes of 30 locations in an urban residential environment is investigated with varying visual (greenery, building, waterbody) and aural elements through a questionnaire approach. Participants experienced the soundscape in-situ and were asked to evaluate the appropriateness of soundscape as well as the dominance of specific sound sources such as traffic, human activities and birdsongs in a residential space. The type of traffic is also investigated to explore the effect of traffic load on appropriateness.
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Relationships between soundscape and landscape evaluation at a historical block in the Central Street in Harbin of China
Time: 8:40 pm
Author: Qingxuan Rui
Abstract ID: 3150
Historical blocks are important material and cultural heritages in the city, and the inheritance of urban culture is affected by its acoustic environment. This article selects Central Street as the research object to study the relationship between its acoustic environment perception and landscape evaluation. The method of field investigation combined with questionnaire survey was adopted. The results show that the pleasure and richness of the soundscape have a positive impact on the satisfaction of the landscape. Under a certain sound intensity, music and broadcast sounds can increase the pleasure of the soundscape, but at excessively high sound intensity, it reduces the pleasure of the soundscape; traffic sounds and construction sounds have a negative impact on the pleasure of the soundscape . At the same time, the elderly have a higher evaluation of the soundscape and landscape perception. This research can be used in the soundscape construction of historic districts and provide a certain reference value for the subsequent renovation and reconstruction of historic districts and improving their integrity.
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The influence of the community soundscape on neighborhood social cohesion: Taking Dong’an community in Harbin of China as an example
Time: 7:20 pm
Author: Jingrui Li
Abstract ID: 3156
With the improvement of the living standards of Chinese urban residents, the residential acoustic environment of the community as a place of life for people urgently needs to be improved. Taking the Dong'an family area in Harbin as an example, through on-site questionnaire surveys and mathematical-statistical analysis, the related relationships and influencing factors of the overall perception of the acoustic environment, the social cohesion of the neighborhood, and the benefits of physical and mental health are studied. The results show that the perception of the soundscape in historical and cultural blocks is closely related to factors such as sound source, sound pressure level, building layout, and social factors of residents; the perception of the soundscape in the green space of the block has a significant positive impact on neighborhood relationships, and neighborhood relationships are healthier. Benefits have a significant positive impact; soundscape perception and health benefits have a significant correlation, and indirectly have a beneficial impact on mental health by promoting neighbor relationships.
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Soundscape assessment of Ipiranga Avenue in São Paulo city
Time: 6:20 am
Author: Ranny Michalski
Abstract ID: 3295
The present work evaluates noise conditions to which people are subject in the central region of São Paulo city. Strategic points were chosen for sound assessment, considering quantitative and qualitative aspects. Different occupancy profiles, height of buildings, constructive density, number of empty spaces, width of the roads and capacity of vehicle flow, were selected. In addition to acoustic measurements, an evaluation of the profile and flow of the vehicles has been made, to serve as input for simulation in a computational model of urban environmental noise and noise mapping of selected areas. The concept of soundscape was approached with the characterization of local sound sources and their sound perception. Questionnaires were applied for subjective assessment and the profile of the interviewees was also characterized. This attitude is important because it leads to an understanding of who exactly is exposed and affected by certain sound levels, and how the same sound level can generate different perceptions. This sensibility while approaching the subject makes people stop being just numbers and more human strategies are adopted for urban planning. At the end, an image was produced to summarize the overall analysis performed.
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Soundscape restoration model based on psycho-physiological response with audio-visual interaction in natural environment
Time: 8:20 pm
Author: Hyun In Jo
Abstract ID: 2290
In this study, a soundscape restoration model was proposed in terms of audio-visual interaction based on psycho-physiological response by natural soundscape experience. To this end, audio-visual stimuli were collected in 6 sites of 2 types of natural environment (greenery and water) and 3 sites of urban environment (as control), and a laboratory evaluation environment was implemented using virtual reality technology. Sixty subjects participated in the experiment for two days, and the individual's health status, personality and temperament, and sensitivity were investigated before the evaluation. In the experiment on the first day, a stress test (mental arithmetic) was performed before the stimulation experience, and questionnaires related to psychological recovery was answered after the stimulation experience. In all the experimental procedures, physiological responses such as heart rate, electroencephalogram (EEG), and eye-tracking were measured so that before/during/after response from experience could be compared. In the experiment on the second day, they were asked to respond to a questionnaire related to the soundscape and landscape of environment. Finally, the relationship between the audio-visual environment (soundscape and landscape perception) and the psycho-physiological response was investigated using structural equation model, and based on this, design guidelines for healthy urban city were proposed.
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An initiation to revive the unique sound of Indonesian cities
Time: 8:00 pm
Author: Christina Eviutami Mediastika
Abstract ID: 3261
As a large country with thousands of ethnic groups and cultures, it is hoped that every city in Indonesia will have its uniqueness. However, preliminary data collected from 10 major cities in Indonesia shows no uniqueness. The most visited public places in these cities, i.e. parks and squares, which are generally associated with natural sounds, are dominated by human and traffic noise. Surprisingly, a noisy acoustic environment is not considered a nuisance. The study reported here looks for reasons why people ignore the noise. An online questionnaire developed using a 5-point Likert scale was distributed to collect data due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Five hundred and ninety-five respondents participated in the survey. ANOVA and Kruskal Wallis test were run to identify differences between soundscape dimensions and differences in soundscape attribute ratings, respectively. The data shows that Indonesians visit public places for communal or social activities, which are triggered by the attractiveness of the places and the types of activities they can participate in. It is the reason why noise is not considered a nuisance. Pleasantness and eventfulness are the two dominant soundscape dimensions found in this study. In the Indonesian context, pleasure correlates with events. Eventfulness is associated with the number of people and their activities in public places. However, in most of the cities surveyed, eventfulness scores were low when they were unable to engage in the events held in public places. They visit public places based on the attractiveness of the place and the activities, and they feel comfortable in noisy public places when they can be involved in the activity. Once people become attached to communal activities in public places, the pleasantness dimension also exists. Thus, two things need to be considered to improve the acoustic environment of cities in Indonesia. First is by reducing traffic noise to increase the dimensions of eventfulness by using attractive attractions in public places. Second is to investigate the types of attractions that are of interest, if possible, is to restore local culture with its unique sound to build a unique city soundscape. In this study, participants identified the uniqueness of sounds in public places by using sounds that could not be classified as unique such as the voice of and the music played by street vendors.
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