tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2012:/EN//2 2012-01-16T14:13:50Z A forum for Ecophon partners in room acoustics Movable Type 3.33 tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2012:/EN//2.737 2012-01-16T14:11:26Z 2012-01-16T14:13:50Z

The latest newsletter is now available online. Click here or use the newsletter archive on the right menu to read it. This newsletter was sent out on Thursday December 21st to all our subscribers. Subcribe today to stay fully...

Ricardo Canto Leyton The latest newsletter is now available online. Click here or use the newsletter archive on the right menu to read it. This newsletter was sent out on Thursday December 21st to all our subscribers. Subcribe today to stay fully updated.]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2011:/EN//2.736 2011-12-20T14:23:43Z 2011-12-20T15:02:13Z

An observational study on staff multitasking and activities at two emergency departments in Sweden shows that clinical staff spend up to 42% of time on information exchange, most of which is face-to-face. This information exchange was also the activity...

Sara Holmqvist An observational study on staff multitasking and activities at two emergency departments in Sweden shows that clinical staff spend up to 42% of time on information exchange, most of which is face-to-face. This information exchange was also the activity that was most multitasked with other activities. ]]> here]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2011:/EN//2.734 2011-12-20T13:54:29Z 2011-12-20T14:15:12Z

If you are into sound, music and mathematics then this creative film will really tick all the boxes! Vi Hart describes herself as a recreational mathemusician - and visualises how our perception of music and sound are linked to...

Sara Holmqvist If you are into sound, music and mathematics then this creative film will really tick all the boxes! Vi Hart describes herself as a recreational mathemusician - and visualises how our perception of music and sound are linked to our anatomy. ]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2011:/EN//2.733 2011-12-19T17:48:54Z 2011-12-20T09:01:04Z

The new standard ISO 3382-3: Acoustics -- Measurement of room acoustic parameters -- Part 3: Open plan offices, has now officially been approved and moved on to publication stage 60.00 (2011-12-19), which categorises it as an international standard under...

Ricardo Canto Leyton The new standard ISO 3382-3: Acoustics -- Measurement of room acoustic parameters -- Part 3: Open plan offices, has now officially been approved and moved on to publication stage 60.00 (2011-12-19), which categorises it as an international standard under publication. The main points of this standard as experienced by Acoustic Bulletin, is the fact that reverberation time is not included, as it is not regarded as a trustworthy quality in open space environments. Instead qualities related to the distance the sound travels are introduced.]]> click here ]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2011:/EN//2.732 2011-12-10T08:20:24Z 2011-12-20T08:43:54Z

Researchers from UC Irvine’s Department of Otolaryngology measured the noise levels of two dozen popular toys in stores and purchased the 10 loudest for precise gauging in a soundproof booth at UC Irvine Medical Center. They found that all...

Ricardo Canto Leyton Researchers from UC Irvine’s Department of Otolaryngology measured the noise levels of two dozen popular toys in stores and purchased the 10 loudest for precise gauging in a soundproof booth at UC Irvine Medical Center. They found that all exceeded 90 decibels and several reached 100 or more, equivalent to the noise of a chain saw, subway train or power mower. ]]> click here or see the video: click here]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2011:/EN//2.731 2011-12-09T11:15:52Z 2011-12-09T11:18:06Z

Daniel Västfjäll, Chalmers University in Sweden, is involved in a project where they study the connection between what we hear and what we see - regarding disturbing work related sounds....

Carsten Svensson Daniel Västfjäll, Chalmers University in Sweden, is involved in a project where they study the connection between what we hear and what we see - regarding disturbing work related sounds. here (in Swedish)! ]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2011:/EN//2.730 2011-12-07T10:27:31Z 2011-12-12T13:52:55Z

Photo: Michael Halsband/PR …..particularly “You Shook Me All Night Long”. A fascinating discovery was done whilst conducting research into what kinds of music affect the behavior of Great White Sharks....

Carsten Svensson Photo: Michael Halsband/PR …..particularly “You Shook Me All Night Long”. A fascinating discovery was done whilst conducting research into what kinds of music affect the behavior of Great White Sharks. ]]> here! ]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2011:/EN//2.729 2011-12-06T09:29:21Z 2011-12-12T13:58:44Z

Do you need music for your productions? Epidemic Sound was founded in 2009. They provide the Epidemic Sound library - created with the sole purpose of being used in audiovisual productions....

Carsten Svensson Do you need music for your productions? Epidemic Sound was founded in 2009. They provide the Epidemic Sound library - created with the sole purpose of being used in audiovisual productions. ]]> here! Get an account here! request@epidemicsound.com Go straight (you need to log in) to the music library here!]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2011:/EN//2.728 2011-10-18T08:32:13Z 2011-10-18T08:32:32Z

The latest newsletter is now available online. Click here or use the newsletter archive on the right menu to read it. This newsletter was sent out on Thursday October 13th to all our subscribers. Subcribe today to stay fully...

Ricardo Canto Leyton The latest newsletter is now available online. Click here or use the newsletter archive on the right menu to read it. This newsletter was sent out on Thursday October 13th to all our subscribers. Subcribe today to stay fully updated.]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2011:/EN//2.726 2011-10-12T10:18:40Z 2011-10-25T10:08:01Z

EAIS 2011 main lecture hall - photo by Martin Arvebro The EIAS 2011 was a unique acoustics event held in Båstad in the south of Sweden. It was attended by around 160 people, mostly acousticians from around the world....

Colin Campbell EAIS 2011 main lecture hall - photo by Martin Arvebro The EIAS 2011 was a unique acoustics event held in Båstad in the south of Sweden. It was attended by around 160 people, mostly acousticians from around the world. The feedback from the event was very positive and here is a brief glimpse of the EIAS 2011 event in a slide show. Ecophon would like to thank all the speakers and delegates who participated and we look forward to the next one!]]> Auralisation Sustainability and acoustics Healthcare premises Open plan offices Educational spaces]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2011:/EN//2.725 2011-10-11T16:04:03Z 2011-10-13T13:51:08Z

Peter Rogers (Cole Jarman) - photo by Martin Arvebro EIAS 2011 Workshop: Acoustics, sustainability and green buildings Sustainability has become an underpinning principle of living. Sustainability does not only relate to recycling of materials and reduction of emissions but...

Colin Campbell Peter Rogers (Cole Jarman) - photo by Martin Arvebro EIAS 2011 Workshop: Acoustics, sustainability and green buildings Sustainability has become an underpinning principle of living. Sustainability does not only relate to recycling of materials and reduction of emissions but also acoustic quality matters. In this work shop we wanted to highlight the sustainability especially in relation to acoustics, and what role acoustics can play connected to green building certifications or ratings. Presenters were René Gamba, Peter Rogers, Carsten Svensson and Jonas Skeppås. ]]> René Gamba, GAMBA Acoustique et Associés, France Acoustic comfort: A unique indicator of the quality of sound climate In France, “HQE” proposes a methodology to design, build and exploit healthy and comfortable “green” buildings. To be certified "HQE" you have to match 14 targets, one of these is exclusively about acoustics, and acoustics meets also several other targets. More than 3 targets have to be upper a very good level (and energy is one of these targets), more than 4 targets have to be above than a good level, and the other need to reach a basic level. For each target (energy, waste, water, acoustics, etc) it is natural to try to express the performance, or the quality, by means of unique indicators easy to read and to understand. That is why the “GIAc” works to the definition of a unique indicator of the acoustic comfort in a place. The objective is to be able to post a label at the entrance of the building, with green arrows (it is very good), yellow (it is just good) orange (it is inferior), red (it is bad), or purple (The building is unfit for its destination, it is unhealthy), as we make it for refrigerators, or for energy efficiency of buildings. This acoustic indicator will have to take into account the various parameters of the acoustic comfort (reverberation, noises of equipments, impacts noise level, sound insulation), by integrating in particular the balance between them. Peter Rogers, Cole Jarman, UK How can a green building be truly sustainable without it having sustainable acoustics? This talk will aim to answer this question and probably creating a whole lot more. It will expand on the plenary session presentation to explore in more depth why Green Buildings demand a fresh approach by acousticians, and what that could be. Have we being deafened by noise and unable to appreciate the need for positive sound. This is likely to provide plenty of scope for debate on this topic, with the aim of revealing a route map for what constitutes good acoustic design in the greener buildings of the future and how acousticians need to take responsibility and proactively expand their influence to getting the message across as each opportunity presents itself. More time will be spent providing examples, tools and the ideal approach for various types of buildings, with one high profile office example being focused on as a case study. This is the WWF-UK HQ - Living Planet Centre, Woking, UK which aims to be a flagship green building. Areas where further research and opportunities for development are needed will also be mentioned before opening the floor to the workshop and further debate. Carsten Svensson, Saint-Gobain Ecophon. Sweden Accessibility, acoustics and sustainability A “society for all” has been on the agenda in several countries the last years – and still is! In line with this, buildings have to be accessible and usable for people also with disabilities such as limited orientation capacity. An important principle is that all people have equal rights and are of equal value. It is a principle of, for instance, the Swedish building legislation that all new buildings and those which are renovated should be fully accessible for disabled people. Since 2001 it has also been required in Sweden that easily eliminated obstacles to accessibility and usability should have been remedied before the end of 2010. In order to give all people equal rights to participate in society, the built environment must be made accessible and usable also for people with disabilities. Moreover, what is good for disabled people is most likely also good for everyone else. In terms of accessibility and usability, acoustics relates more to the concept of usability. Usability means that people can take part in the environment and use it. Acoustics is primarily related to persons with limited orientation capacity, and a good acoustic environment, in this sense, primarily benefits persons with impaired vision and hearing, persons with cognitive difficulties and the elderly. This presentation highlights who benefits particularly from good acoustics and how acoustics can be applied in practice with regard to accessibility and usability. Good acoustics is one parameters contributing to a sustainable world and acoustics certainly must be a natural part of sustainable design. Our hearing and aural sense directly affects our safety, communication, social health and wellbeing, thus our quality of life. Knowledge on acoustics and practical implications in the built environment affects the progress towards a sustainable future. Jonas Skeppås, Saint-Gobain Ecophon, Sweden TABS (Thermally activated building systems) "A trend today in modern buildings is to use the ceiling as a cooling surface, to use thermally activated building systems (TABS). An advantage with this solution is the increased possibility to use sources for cooling such as ground or sea water since the large ceiling area can operate at a relative high cooling temperature. The ceiling can also store the cold air that is available during the night and the risk for draught and discomfort will also be reduced compared to traditional cooling with cool air. A challenge arises when this system is combined with a requirement for good acoustics. The traditional solution – an overall, class A acoustic ceiling - does not work, as the cooling effect from the concrete is shielded by the ceiling. One solution is to use free-hanging units, which improve the acoustics in addition to allowing effective cooling. Ecophon has performed tests based on the European standard EN 14240:2004 in order to evaluate how the cooling effect is influenced by free-hanging units. This test has been combined with similar test reports from other parties in a general graph. The results indicate that much of the cooling is produced by natural convection and that it is important not to impede the air movement around the ceiling units." ]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2011:/EN//2.727 2011-10-08T12:24:57Z 2011-10-13T12:59:20Z

Lily Wang, Erika Ryherd, Kerstin Persson-Waye, James Whitlock, Claus Møller Petersen, Valtteri Hongisto and Andrew Parkin give their insights into their work and EIAS2011. Interview with Lily Wang Interview with Erika Ryherd Interview with Kerstin Persson-Waye Interview with James Whitlock...

Ricardo Canto Leyton Interview with Lily Wang Interview with Erika Ryherd Interview with Kerstin Persson-Waye Interview with James Whitlock Interview with Claus Møller Petersen Interview with Valtteri Hongisto Interview with Andrew Parkin]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2011:/EN//2.724 2011-10-07T16:01:20Z 2011-10-13T12:36:23Z

Claus Lynge Christensen (Odeon) - photo by Martin Arvebro Room acoustic simulations and auralisation Introduction text: The aim of the workshop is to give the participants information on recent research in the field of room acoustic simulations and auralisations....

Colin Campbell Claus Lynge Christensen (Odeon) - photo by Martin Arvebro Room acoustic simulations and auralisation Introduction text: The aim of the workshop is to give the participants information on recent research in the field of room acoustic simulations and auralisations. The workshop will incorporate four key-note presentations that highlight interesting topics and applications in the field. The intension is that these presentations will inspire and engage to fruitful discussions during the workshop. Moderator: Peter Svensson Assistant moderator (Ecophon staff): Erling Nilsson Opening lecture speaker (to all): Michael Vorländer (Speakers in Work shop) - Tapio Lokki - Claus Lynge Christensen - Peter Svensson - Michael Vorländer ]]> Workshop “Room Acoustic Simulations and Auralisation” at the Ecophon International Acousticians’ Seminar, 2011 Abstracts Auralization of Sound Insulation Michael Vorländer, RWTH Aachen University, Germany Auralization is an established technique in room acoustic, but it is an interesting and powerful tool in other sub-disciplines of acoustics as well. In its usual definition, auralization means that a room is considered as system of sound transmission path and made “audible” by using excitation signals from appropriate sound sources. The key to achieve the resulting sound file is signal processing involving convolution with a filter response. The input data for such kind of auralization are based on standard building acoustics quantities such as sound reduction index, vibration reduction index and reverberation times, besides the basic room data of volume and surface areas. The problem in listening to auralized sound insulation is, however, the low level and low frequency content of the resulting signal which sets limits to the sensitivity and electrical noise in the electroacoustic reproduction system and to the background noise in the reproduction room. In this contribution the basic features of signal processing are discussed, and strategies for creating filters for direct and flanking sound transmission are presented and demonstrated with audio and video examples. How to present auralized sound to a listener Peter Svensson, Department of electronics and telecommunications Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Auralization involves the computation of a sound signal which then needs to be presented to a listener or "rendered", to borrow a term from the visual domain. This presentation will give a brief overview of the common formats that are used. The most common is the binaural format, which is based on computing the sound pressure signals at the ears of a listener. Such a format can be presented to a listener using headphones, or two loudspeakers and a crosstalk cancellation filter. Another category includes various multichannel loudspeaker formats. These range from the 5.1 format which is used for home cinema, as well as more advanced ones: amplitude panning for any number of loudspeakers, wavefield synthesis, and higher-order Ambisonics. The latter two formats aim at reproducing a sound field over an extended volume in space so that a listener can move freely within a limited region. Possibilities and limitations with all the formats will be outlined. Understanding acoustics of new trends in room design by means of auralisation Claus Lynge Christensen, Odeon A/S The design of buildings for schools, offices etc. have undergone large changes in recent years. Open plan design has become mainstream offering large and light, visually appealing atriums which unites complete buildings into large coupled spaces including many different functions. Even if room acoustics parameters such as T30 and STI (Speech Transmission Index) can be calculated, they may not offer a clear basis for evaluation of the acoustic comfort; if noise from the canteen is disturbing work in other parts of the building volume or if one group can hear the conversation of another (speech privacy) etc. This presentation gives a short overview of the calculation principles in Odeon and demonstrates how Odeon was used for auralisation in the first open plan high school built according to the intensions of revised Danish guidelines (2005) for high schools. Auralisation was used in order to evaluate acoustics in the building with different amount of absorption present. Sound transmission through walls was also evaluated. Auralisation examples are given. Modeling 1D-diffusers - the missing link. Bengt-Inge Dalenbäck, CATT Many surfaces in a room can in geometrical acoustics be seen as 1D-diffusers. Examples are stage or side walls with vertical battens or ridges, ceilings with beams across or along the room, 1D QRD diffusers, and in general 1D corrugated surfaces. So far these surfaces have been modeled as 2D-diffusers where the reflection angle depends only on the angle to the surface normal, such as in the Lambert distribution, and appears to have essentially worked satisfactory. However, the larger the area of surfaces of this type that are used in a room, and when source or receiver is close to these surfaces, the more important it becomes to use a more suitable scattering model, especially so if the room geometry is non-mixing and with an uneven absorption distribution. A 1D-diffuser can be described as a surface construction that, in a frequency dependent way, mainly scatters sound incident perpendicular to the battens while for sound incident parallel to the battens the scattering is low, but not as low as for a flat surface due to the depth variation. This paper presents a way to model 1D-diffusers that is compatible with the data for 2D-diffusers where only the direction of the battens needs to be indicated. The experience from estimating scattering coefficients for 2D-diffusers can be directly used and the model allows for both randomizing a diffused ray, as in classical ray-tracing, and for efficient deterministic diffuse ray split-up as used in CATT TUCT. tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2011:/EN//2.723 2011-10-06T15:52:10Z 2011-10-13T12:33:16Z

Simon Smith (Sweyne Park School) - photo by Martin Arvebro A workshop regarding open plan office acoustics was held at the Ecophon International Acousticians' Seminar, in Båstad, Sweden, Sept 22nd. An opening lecture to introduce the workshop was "Acoustics...

Colin Campbell Simon Smith (Sweyne Park School) - photo by Martin Arvebro A workshop regarding open plan office acoustics was held at the Ecophon International Acousticians' Seminar, in Båstad, Sweden, Sept 22nd. An opening lecture to introduce the workshop was "Acoustics in my School" (Essex Study) by Simon Smith - Learning Environments Manager, Sweyne Park School, Essex A total of four presentations were held and discussed in the workshop that followed: ]]> Andrew Parkin (Cundall Acoustics) David Canning - London Borough of Newham. UK Essex Study Bridget Shield - Professor of Acoustics, LSBU. UK Understanding acoustics in open & semi open learning spaces Monika Rychtarikova - Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, BelgiumInstitute of Acoustics, RWTH Aachen, Germany Calculating the Optimum Reverberation Time and Absorption Coefficient for Good Speech Intelligibility in Classroom Design Using U50 Lennart Nilsson - Akustikmiljö AB, Huddinge/Stockholm, Sweden Low frequency problems in classrooms David Canning The Essex Study David Canning - London Borough of Newham. UK Several years ago Essex County Council in the UK had faced repeated challenges to the working (functional) acoustic conditions in their schools. One school in particular served as a resourced provision for hearing impaired children. This school had been judged as an outstanding school by Independent Inspectors and it had considerable experience of educating hearing impaired children. The school was an unexceptional building, typical of many in the UK. Most of the teaching took place in virtually identical classrooms each with a volume of about 150 cubic metres. The challenge to the County Council was to create an environment that would meet the auditory needs of hearing impaired children in a working school. They had to find a solution that would be cost effective, and must not be detrimental to teachers or other children. In order to identify the most suitable acoustic conditions a double blind counterbalanced controlled experimental design was adopted. The simplicity of the design was supported by considerable goodwill and intense periods of refurbishing classrooms at times when neither teachers not students would be in school. During the 6 month experimental period, three identical classrooms received different sound treatments in such a way that they appeared visually the same and a fourth was left untreated. Using a latin square design, the sound treatments were rotated between classrooms at appropriate periods and extensive performance measures were obtained for more than 100 lessons. Both qualitative and quantitative measures were obtained. This workshop will present some important findings quantitative and qualitative findings the impact of reverberation time on working noise levels and signal to noise levels as measured at the children's ears. It will also look at the impact of teaching style and class size on functional acoustics. Bridget Shield Understanding acoustics in open and semi-open learning spaces Bridget Shield, Professor of Acoustics, LSBU. UK Open plan classrooms became popular in the 1970s in Europe and the USA in response to progressive educational movements, however their use was discontinued owing mainly to problems of noise and visual intrusion. In the 21st century educational and architectural trends are leading to a resurgence of open plan design, with many schools incorporating large open areas and atria intended to accommodate shared teaching space. This presentation will report the results of a large scale, detailed acoustic survey of semi- open plan primary school classrooms in the UK, which have enabled acoustic design guidelines to be developed to ensure good listening conditions. However current acoustic and questionnaire surveys of secondary schools suggest that, even when open plan spaces comply with current acoustic performance standards, students have difficulty hearing their teachers in such spaces. The presentation will conclude by presenting interim results from the current surveys which raise questions concerning appropriate guidelines for large open learning spaces in secondary schools. Monika Rychtarikova Calculating the Optimum Reverberation Time and Absorption Coefficient for Good Speech Intelligibility in Classroom Design Using U50 Monika Rychtarikova, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, BelgiumInstitute of Acoustics, RWTH Aachen, Germany Acoustical comfort in general, and the quality of speech transmission from teacher to students in particular, are crucial in determining the quality of educational processes in schools. The acoustical treatment of interior surfaces, the sound insulation of surrounding constructions, the vocal capacity of the teacher, student activity noise, children’s abilities to hear and concentrate and the educational circumstances, are among the many factors in the complex mechanism of speech understanding. Managing the rich variety of measures for optimising classroom acoustics demands a multidisciplinary approach. In this article we propose a predictive model for speech intelligibility, as expressed with the parameter U50, based on objective acoustical values, i.e. the reverberation time RT, signal-to-noise ratio SN, and the relative proportions of sound arriving early and late at the listener. The possible additional need for minimum RT values is also investigated in relation to the phenomenon of ’overdamping‘ in classrooms. Lennart Nilsson Low frequency problems in classrooms Lennart Nilsson, Akustikmiljö AB, Huddinge/Stockholm, Sweden Almost all classrooms have a reverberation time that increases dramatically at lower frequencies. Normally the specified reverberation time is 0,5 seconds, which means a mean value between 250 and 4000 Hz. At lower frequencies it is not specified. At 125 Hz it often reach 1,0 seconds and at 63 Hz it often goes beyond 2,0 seconds. What happens is that we get a rather big masking effect and because of this the recommendation in the Swedish standard is to keep the reverberation time as short as possible at 125 Hz if it is to be used for people with a hearing impairment. Otherwise it is not allowed to be increased more than 0,1 seconds. At low frequencies we have a lot of standing waves giving longer reverberation and higher levels. That gives masking effect both in time and level and even if it not directly affects the possibly to understand, it affects the concentration and increase tiredness. There exist several ways to absorb low frequencies and it would be much to win to find easy effective ways to do so in order to get a higher output from the learning process in schools. Click here for the full list of Abstracts from EIAS 2011 and the other workshops]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2011:/EN//2.722 2011-10-05T14:15:03Z 2011-10-25T10:13:06Z

Kerstin Persson-Waye (Gothenburg University) - photo by Martin Arvebro The hospital gives acoustical challenges that affect both patients, staff and the hospital as a business facility. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the challenges of the hospital...

Sara Holmqvist Kerstin Persson-Waye (Gothenburg University) - photo by Martin Arvebro The hospital gives acoustical challenges that affect both patients, staff and the hospital as a business facility. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the challenges of the hospital soundscape and how they can be addressed. ]]> The workshop was chaired by Kerstin Persson Waye and presenters were Roger Ulrich, Erica Ryherd, Nicky Shiers and dr Gunnar Öhlén and dr Paul Barach also participated via a prerecorded film.