scholarly journals Let the Children Listen: A First Approximation to the Sound Environment Assessment of Children through a Soundwalk Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 4185
Author(s):  
Laura Estévez-Mauriz ◽  
Jens Forssén ◽  
Georgios Zachos ◽  
Wolfgang Kropp
Keyword(s):  
Background Noise ◽  
Traffic Volume ◽  
View Point ◽  
Sound Sources ◽  
Acoustic Data ◽  
Environment Quality ◽  
First Approximation ◽  
Individual Assessment ◽  
Sound Environment

The urban sound environment is one of the layers that characterizes a city, and several methodologies are used for its assessment, including the soundwalk approach. However, this approach has been tested mainly with adults. In the work presented here, the aim is to investigate a soundwalk methodology for children, analyzing the sound environment of five different sites of Gothenburg, Sweden, from children’s view-point, giving them the opportunity to take action as an active part of society. Both individual assessment of the sound environment and acoustic data were collected. The findings suggested that among significant results, children tended to rank the sound environment as slightly better when lower levels of background noise were present ( L A 90 ). Moreover, traffic dominance ratings appeared as the best predictor among the studied sound sources: when traffic dominated as a sound source, the children rated the sound environment as less good. Additionally, traffic volume appeared as a plausible predictor for sound environment quality judgments, since the higher the traffic volume, the lower the quality of the sound environment. The incorporation of children into urban sound environment research may be able to generate new results in terms of children’s understanding of their sound environment. Moreover, sound environment policies can be developed from and for children.

scholarly journals Urban park soundscape in distinct sociocultural and geographical contexts

Noise Mapping ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Carlos Lobo Soares ◽  
J. Luis Bento Coelho
Keyword(s):  
Urban Parks ◽  
Urban Park ◽  
Public Parks ◽  
Urban Architecture ◽  
Sound Sources ◽  
Relative Paucity ◽  
Sound Environment ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
Planned Activities

AbstractThe importance of soundscape in urban public parks has galvanised researchers concerned with improving the sound environment in cities. Existing literature reveals, however, a relative paucity of studies on soundscape in particular sociocultural and environmental contexts, and on the influence of these contexts in the perception of the urban sound space.Within this framework, this paper investigates the soundscape of parks in the cities of Belém, Brazil, and Lisbon, Portugal. The influence of geography and climate as determinant of activities and behaviors, the emission of natural and man-made sounds that characterise the soundscape of urban parks, the way park users evaluate the quality of sound environments were analysed, as were other elements that contribute for such an appreciation. The methodology encompassed sound measurements inside and outside the parks, analysis of the audibility of identifiable sound sources, study of local uses and activities through soundwalks and interviews, and assessment of responses to enquiries. The results shows that the soundscape of park depends on different features such as geography, climate, urban architecture, park infrastructure, sound sources, and most importantly the visitors’ expectations for the planned activities, together with their other sensorial responses, which proved to be different in distinct sociocultural and environmental contexts.

State-of-the-Art: A Systematic Literature Review on Image Segmentation in Latent Fingerprint Forensics

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megha Chhabra ◽  
Manoj Kumar Shukla ◽  
Kiran Kumar Ravulakollu
Keyword(s):  
Image Segmentation ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Recognition Rate ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Latent Fingerprint ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
The Comparative Study ◽  
Finger Skin

: Latent fingerprints are unintentional finger skin impressions left as ridge patterns at crime scenes. A major challenge in latent fingerprint forensics is the poor quality of the lifted image from the crime scene. Forensics investigators are in permanent search of novel outbreaks of the effective technologies to capture and process low quality image. The accuracy of the results depends upon the quality of the image captured in the beginning, metrics used to assess the quality and thereafter level of enhancement required. The low quality of the image collected by low quality scanners, unstructured background noise, poor ridge quality, overlapping structured noise result in detection of false minutiae and hence reduce the recognition rate. Traditionally, Image segmentation and enhancement is partially done manually using help of highly skilled experts. Using automated systems for this work, differently challenging quality of images can be investigated faster. This survey amplifies the comparative study of various segmentation techniques available for latent fingerprint forensics.

scholarly journals Comprehensive survey among statistical members of medical ethics committees in Germany on their personal impression of completeness and correctness of biostatistical aspects of submitted study protocols

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. e032864
Author(s):  
Geraldine Rauch ◽  
Lorena Hafermann ◽  
Ulrich Mansmann ◽  
Iris Pigeot
Keyword(s):  
Medical Ethics ◽  
Missing Values ◽  
Sample Size Calculation ◽  
Ethics Committees ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Study Protocols ◽  
Individual Assessment ◽  
Statistical Problems ◽  
Multiple Comparison Procedures

ObjectivesTo assess biostatistical quality of study protocols submitted to German medical ethics committees according to personal appraisal of their statistical members.DesignWe conducted a web-based survey among biostatisticians who have been active as members in German medical ethics committees during the past 3 years.SettingThe study population was identified by a comprehensive web search on websites of German medical ethics committees.ParticipantsThe final list comprised 86 eligible persons. In total, 57 (66%) completed the survey.QuestionnaireThe first item checked whether the inclusion criterion was met. The last item assessed satisfaction with the survey. Four items aimed to characterise the medical ethics committee in terms of type and location, one item asked for the urgency of biostatistical training addressed to the medical investigators. The main 2×12 items reported an individual assessment of the quality of biostatistical aspects in the submitted study protocols, while distinguishing studies according to the German Medicines Act (AMG)/German Act on Medical Devices (MPG) and studies non-regulated by these laws.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe individual assessment of the quality of biostatistical aspects corresponds to the primary objective. Thus, participants were asked to complete the sentence ‘In x% of the submitted study protocols, the following problem occurs’, where 12 different statistical problems were formulated. All other items assess secondary endpoints.ResultsFor all biostatistical aspects, 45 of 49 (91.8%) participants judged the quality of AMG/MPG study protocols much better than that of ‘non-regulated’ studies. The latter are in median affected 20%–60% more often by statistical problems. The highest need for training was reported for sample size calculation, missing values and multiple comparison procedures.ConclusionsBiostatisticians being active in German medical ethics committees classify the biostatistical quality of study protocols as low for ‘non-regulated’ studies, whereas quality is much better for AMG/MPG studies.

scholarly journals Evaluating Cultural Landscape Remediation Design Based on VR Technology

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 423
Author(s):  
Zhengsong Lin ◽  
Lu Zhang ◽  
Su Tang ◽  
Yang Song ◽  
Xinyue Ye
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Aesthetic Experience ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
Visual Fatigue ◽  
Environment Quality ◽  
Rural Revitalization ◽  
Remediation Design ◽  
Ecological Remediation

Due to the recent excessive pursuit of rapid economic development in China, the cultural heritage resources have been gradually destroyed. This paper proposes cultural recovery and ecological remediation patterns, and adopts virtual reality (VR) technology to evaluate the visual aesthetic effect of the restored landscape. The results show that: (1) the average vegetation coverage increased, providing data support for remediation design evaluation; and (2) the fixation counts and average saccade counts of the subjects increased after the remediation design, indicating that the restored cultural landscape reduced visual fatigue and provided a better visual aesthetic experience. Furthermore, the comparative analysis of the quality of the water environment shows that the remediation design project improved the ecological environment quality of the relics area. The results of this study will contribute to rural revitalization in minority areas in southwest China.

Lighting Environment Study on Rural Residential Buildings in Weihe Plain of China

2012 ◽  
Vol 193-194 ◽  
pp. 1165-1173
Author(s):  
Xi Liao ◽  
Jing Luo ◽  
Yuan Jiang ◽  
Yi Ping Zhu ◽  
Wen Bo Wu
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Health ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Natural Light ◽  
Indoor Space ◽  
Environment Quality ◽  
Environment Study ◽  
Physical And Psychological Health ◽  
Lighting Environment ◽  
Indoor Lighting

As an important index reflecting residential quality, the lighting environment level of residential buildings exerts tremendous influence on both physical and psychological health of residents. Taking a typical rural house in Weihe Plain as example, with indoor lighting environment test, lighting habits of the resident and Ecotect software, the paper studies indoor lighting environment quality of rural residential buildings in Weihe Plain and analyzes the influence of residential buildings' design on lighting environment. The result shows that rural residents in Weihe Plain usually don’t attach due importance to the lighting environment quality of living space, and the design of indoor space goes against effective utilization of natural light. Thus, the paper eventually brings forward a method to consummate the lighting environment of rural residential buildings and explores the buildings’ potential of saving energy by making use of natural light.

Speech Intelligibility Parameters for Evaluating the Perception of Background Noise in Open-Plan Office Users: A Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Serrano Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Background Noise ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Physical Factors ◽  
Space Design ◽  
Transmission Index ◽  
Open Plan ◽  
Design Characteristics

This document presents a case study of acoustic analysis in an open-plan office. Since Mexico does not have a standard for evaluating acoustic conditions in offices, it is relevant to compare different acoustic evaluation methods used for open-plan offices. According to several studies, one of the main acoustic characteristics for open-plan office spaces is speech intelligibility. Therefore, the purpose of this document is to compare psychoacoustic parameters to evaluate speech intelligibility in open-plan offices. We analyzed physical factors as reverberation and speech clarity in different office points, as well as semantic factors based on subjective methods with standardized values of the quality of speech intelligibility. The study was carried out under real open-plan office conditions in a library in a university in northern Mexico. The study factors of interest were type of sound, sound source, and location of the listener, with Reverberation Time (RT), Speech Transmission Index (STI) and Loss of consonant articulation (%ALCons) as the measures of impact on intelligibility. This case study provides additional evidence of the relationship between intelligibility and the position of sound sources; also, it was noted that location of listeners influenced analyzed intelligibility parameters. On the other hand, this case study offers information concerning to use psychoacoustic parameters for subjective classification of quality of the speech intelligibility to evaluate how is background noise perceived in open-plan office users. However, it is noteworthy that this study represents a single office with its own interior and space design characteristics.

scholarly journals Investigation of Water Quality Parameters from Ramna, Crescent and Hatirjheel Lakes in Dhaka City

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
MS Islam ◽  
M Rehnuma ◽  
SS Tithi ◽  
MH Kabir ◽  
L Sarkar
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Lake Water ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Water Runoff ◽  
Dhaka City ◽  
Sound Environment ◽  
Surrounding Areas

The study was conducted to know the status of water quality of the Ramna, Crescent and Hatirjheel lakes in the Dhaka city. Water samples were collected from three different points of each lake and analyzed for various physicochemical parameters including temperature, pH, EC, TDS, DO, BOD, hardness, alkalinity, acidity during the period from November 2013 to April 2014. The mean temperature 22.54, 24.59 and 24.24°C; EC 15400, 282.00 and 618.27 ?Scm-1; TDS 85.38, 155.60 and 339.90 ppm; pH 7.73, 7.85 and 7.67; DO 3.51, 3.92 and 3.65 ppm; BOD 0.93, 0.73 and 3.15 ppm; hardness 95.00, 108.56 and 105.11 ppm; alkalinity 48.9, 120.7 and 249.1 ppm, and acidity 2.18, 2.67 and 2.05 ppm were investigated from Ramna, Crescent and Hatirjheel lakes, respectively. Lower concentration of DO was observed in all three lakes that severely harmed the aquatic organisms and degrade their habitat. The comparative study demonstrated that the concentration of BOD, EC, TDS, alkalinity and acidity of Hatirjheel Lake was higher than Ramna and Crescent lakes which indicated pollution of the lake water. The rain and storm water runoff, lack of awareness of people were responsible for the pollution of Ramna, Crescent and Hatirjheel lakes water. Connection of the sewerage line with the rain water collection channels and mixing of solid waste with lake water are the main reasons for pollution of Hatirjheel lake. Poor water quality of these lakes affects the ecosystem and aesthetic beauty negatively. To maintain the sound environment and healthy ecosystem of the lakes and the surrounding areas need proper management and monitoring and implementation of existing laws and regulations. Moreover public awareness is necessary otherwise it is hardly possible to maintain sound water quality of these three lakes.J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 8(1): 1-5 2015

scholarly journals Measuring Customer Satisfaction When Dining at a Casual Restaurant: An Application of Kisang's Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Soomro Dr. Raheem Bux ◽  
Brohi Noor Ahmed ◽  
Memon Khair Muhammad ◽  
Gilal Rehman Gul
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Food Quality ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Perceived Value ◽  
Average Temperature ◽  
Environment Quality ◽  
Customer Perceived Value ◽  
Quality Dimensions

The culinary business is being increased rapidly in Pakistan. Usually, Pakistani consumers prefer to eat meals at homes cooked by female members owing to cultural, social and religious reason. In order to bridge up the gap in existing hospitality literature, the objective of this research manuscript is to find out the relation among dimensions of quality (food quality, service quality and quality of physical environment), customer satisfaction, restaurant image, behavioral intentions and customer perceived value in casual restaurants in Sukkur city. Data for this research study have been collected from customers of restaurants located in Sukkur city through convenience sampling. SPSS (24) and Smart PLS (3.0) versions were used for data analysis. Service quality dimensions of causal restaurant were found important determinants of the restaurant image and customer perceived value followed by physical environment and service quality; whereas, the physical environment quality was not found to be a significant factor of perceived value of customer. Additionally, food quality is measured as an important restaurant’s product. Another outcome of the present study exhibited that quality of physical environment holds a substantial positive effect on restaurant image. The findings indicate quality in food and service is highly important to satisfy customers and make their behavior positive about casual restaurant. Further, as an average temperature remains above 400 in Sukkur city, internal environment of the restaurant is significant as it will affect the mood and perception of customers when they dine in the casual restaurant.

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