Wind Farm Noise Management Based on Determinants of Annoyance

Wind energy in Europe is aimed to grow at a steady, high pace. Wind turbine noise is an important issue for residents. Environmental noise management aims to reduce the exposure of the population, usually based on acoustics and restricted to a limited number of sources (such as transportation or industry) and sound descriptors (such as Lden). Individual perceptions are taken into account only at an aggregate, statistical level (such as percentage of exposed, annoyed or sleep-disturbed persons in the population). Individual perceptions and reactions to sound vary in intensity and over different dimensions (such as pleasure/fear or distraction). Sound level is in fact a weak predictor of the perceived health effects of sound. The positive or negative perception of the sound (source) is a better predictor of its effects. This article aims to show how the two perspectives (based on acoustics and on perception) can lead to a combined approach in the management of environmental sound. In this approach the reduction of annoyance, not primarily of level, is the main aim. An important aspect in this approach is what a sound means to people: does it lead to anxiety or worry, is it appropriate? The available knowledge will be applied to wind farm management: planning as well as operation.

Perception of Environmental Sounds in Cochlear Implant Users: A Systematic Review

Objectives: Improved perception of environmental sounds (PES) is one of the primary benefits of cochlear implantation (CI). However, past research contains mixed findings on PES ability in contemporary CI users, which at times contrast with anecdotal clinical reports. The present review examined extant PES research to provide an evidence basis for clinical counseling, identify knowledge gaps, and suggest directions for future work in this area of CI outcome assessment.Methods: Six electronic databases were searched using medical subject headings (MeSH) and keywords broadly identified to reference CI and environmental sounds. Records published between 2000 and 2021 were screened by two independent reviewers in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement to identify studies that met the inclusion criteria. Data were subsequently extracted and evaluated according to synthesis without-meta-analysis (SWiM) guidelines.Results: Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Most examined PES in post-lingually implanted adults, with one study focused on pre/perilingual adults. Environmental sound identification (ESI) in quiet using open- or closed-set response format was most commonly used in PES assessment, included in all selected studies. ESI accuracy in CI children (3 studies) and adults (16 studies), was highly variable but generally mediocre (means range: 31–87%). Only two studies evaluated ESI performance prospectively before and after CI, while most studies were cross-sectional. Overall, CI performance was consistently lower than that of normal-hearing peers. No significant differences in identification accuracy were reported between CI candidates and CI users. Environmental sound identification correlated in CI users with measures of speech perception, music and spectro-temporal processing.Conclusion: The findings of this systematic review indicate considerable limitations in the current knowledge of PES in contemporary CI users, especially in pre/perilingual late-implanted adults and children. Although no overall improvement in PES following implantation was found, large individual variability and existing methodological limitations in PES assessment may potentially obscure potential CI benefits for PES. Further research in this ecologically relevant area of assessment is needed to establish a stronger evidence basis, identify CI users with significant deficits, and improve CI users' safety and satisfaction through targeted PES rehabilitation.

Research on dynamic routing algorithm based on gaussian mixture model

In this paper, based on the method of environmental sound detection, a neural network model based on capsule network and Gaussian mixture model is proposed. The model proposed in this paper mainly aims at the disadvantages of dynamic routing algorithm in the capsule network, and proposes a dynamic routing algorithm based on Gaussian mixture model. The improved dynamic routing algorithm assumes that the characteristics of the data conform to the multi-dimensional Gaussian distribution, so the model can learn the distribution of data features by building distribution functions of different classes. The information entropy is used as the activation value of the salient degree of the feature. Through experiments, the accuracy of the proposed algorithm on Urbansound8K data set is more than 92%, which is 4.8% higher than the original algorithm.

Towards the Interpretation of Sound Measurements from Smartphones Collected with Mobile Crowdsensing in the Healthcare Domain: An Experiment with Android Devices

The ubiquity of mobile devices fosters the combined use of ecological momentary assessments (EMA) and mobile crowdsensing (MCS) in the field of healthcare. This combination not only allows researchers to collect ecologically valid data, but also to use smartphone sensors to capture the context in which these data are collected. The TrackYourTinnitus (TYT) platform uses EMA to track users’ individual subjective tinnitus perception and MCS to capture an objective environmental sound level while the EMA questionnaire is filled in. However, the sound level data cannot be used directly among the different smartphones used by TYT users, since uncalibrated raw values are stored. This work describes an approach towards making these values comparable. In the described setting, the evaluation of sensor measurements from different smartphone users becomes increasingly prevalent. Therefore, the shown approach can be also considered as a more general solution as it not only shows how it helped to interpret TYT sound level data, but may also stimulate other researchers, especially those who need to interpret sensor data in a similar setting. Altogether, the approach will show that measuring sound levels with mobile devices is possible in healthcare scenarios, but there are many challenges to ensuring that the measured values are interpretable.

Smart Sirens—Civil Protection in Rural Areas

Germany carried out a nationwide “Alert Day” in 2020 to test its civil alarm systems. The test revealed some problems. Heterogeneous development structures and topography can be limiting factors for sound propagation. In consequence, sirens could be heard inadequately, depending on their location. Furthermore, the reason of warning remains unknown to the public. In terms of civil protection, warnings with the code of behavior by general available media is desired. Smart sirens can transmit additional spoken information and be installed on already-existing streetlights. In this study, we analyze how smart sirens could lead to an improved civil protection. Exemplarily, a detailed analysis is made for a different structured rural area, Dansenberg in Germany, whereas the influence of local conditions on the sound propagation is considered. We analyzed with the software CadnaA—a software for calculation, assessment and prediction of environmental sound—how the location and number of smart sirens can be optimized in order to produce a full coverage of the study area. We modeled the coverage in different scenarios and compared four scenarios: (a) current situation with two E57 type sirens; (b) replacing the existing sirens with two high-performance sirens; (c) one high-performance siren at the more central point; and (d) optimized network of smart sirens of the type Telegrafia Bono. The aim was to achieve a full coverage with a minimum of warning sirens. We could show that the current situation with two E57 type sirens fails to reach out to the whole population whereas the optimized network of smart sirens results in a better coverage. Therefore, a reconsideration of the existing warning system of civil protection with smart sirens could result in a better coverage and improved information of warning.

Discreet Synthesizer Allowing new ambient music to emerge through composition on semi-modular synths

<p>Defining ambient music through exploring the intentions, creative processes and listening objectives of ambient composers. Aspects that have influenced ambient music, loops, drones, environmental sound, aural architecture<br></p>

Discreet Synthesizer Allowing new ambient music to emerge through composition on semi-modular synths

<p>Defining ambient music through exploring the intentions, creative processes and listening objectives of ambient composers. Aspects that have influenced ambient music, loops, drones, environmental sound, aural architecture<br></p>

Do I Get a Say in This? Environmental Sound Composition, the Phonograph and Intentionality

<p>Environmental sound composition, a term I employ to describe all forms of electroacoustic works in which the core materials are abstracted from real environments through technology, has been practiced in a variety of forms for more than 50 years. A tension exists between environmental sound composition and western art music, one that continues to make this marriage uncomfortable. In short, the use of mimetic materials in environmental sound composition does not fit the prescriptions of formalism, an ideology that electroacoustic composition inherited from western art music. Though attempts have been made to lessen this tension (Emmerson, 1986 and Smalley, 1996), an underlying anxiety persists in environmental sound composition, as the twin legacy of Pierre Schaeffer’s ideas concerning musique concrète and the concerns of acoustic ecology, a movement championed by soundscape composers (Westerkamp, 2002), continues to influence the genre. Recently there has emerged an increasing resistance to the didactic ideology of soundscape theory in particular, as exemplified by Lopez (1997), Ingold (2007) and Kelman (2010). However, soundscape theory continues to influence the production of environmental sound composition, as composers seek to align themselves with such concerns, or place themselves in opposition to them. In my view, the tension between formalism and mimesis has resulted in a widespread fixation on poietic intent in environmental sound composition. As a result, composers have tried to dictate how their works should be heard, while ignoring the complexity of listener response. While a number of fresh perspectives have arisen in recent years looking at environmental sound composition methodology and the role of esthetic analysis in such works, including Voegelin (2010) and Lane and Carlyle (2013), a rigorous investigation into the roles of intentionality, technology and hermeneutic analysis in the production and reception of environmental sound composition remains absent. My thesis explores the nature of the phonograph (an audio recording) and phonography (the act of recording) in broad terms, and then with specific attention to environmental sound composition. Various recording genres and phonograph types associated with these genres are identified, while the attitudes of composers towards technology and the ontological nature of their works are investigated. This approach is applied in making a critical assessment of environmental sound composition, exposing the specificity of the rift between poietic intention and esthetic reception. I argue for a hermeneutic evaluation of the phonograph on similar terms as those set out by Roland Barthes in Camera Lucida (1981). In examining the temporal dimensions of the phonograph, along with its formal and affective traits, my research aims to elevate the phonograph from the role of a passive bearer of composer intentionality, to that of a primary contributor to the listening experience. With this aim in mind, I present a portfolio of creative works as a second volume to this thesis, born of the ideas discussed herein, which explore the nature of the phonograph, its temporalities, the site specific aspects of phonography and compositional intervention with the phonograph. I will refer to my works throughout this thesis, detailing how I have incorporated my theoretical concerns into my compositional practice, especially in chapter four, five and six.</p>