tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2 2013-05-16T13:02:46Z A forum for Ecophon partners in room acoustics Movable Type 3.33 tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2.821 2013-05-16T11:34:03Z 2013-05-16T13:02:46Z

film which highlights noise issues and behavoiur in the home

Colin Campbell An entertaining short film has been made to coincide with Noise Awareness Week 20- 25th May 2013 in the UK. Watch the film which highlights noise issues and behavoiur in the home here. ]]> Noise Action Week. ]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2.820 2013-05-10T16:54:17Z 2013-05-10T17:02:00Z

birdsong isn't just beautiful to listen to, it is increasingly being used in innovative ways due to the positive response people have in certain activity conditions

Colin Campbell A 90-second daily show highlighting the songs of British birds has been played early on BBC Radio 4 this week. But birdsong isn't just beautiful to listen to, it is increasingly being used in innovative ways due to the positive response people have in certain activity conditions like; during homework, a post meal slump, where people have a fear of needles, around transport and also for general business.]]> Click here to read more and listen to some birdsong sound files and some of the innovative ways where birdsong is being used. For more info about and to download the Study app featured here and launched last year at the International Sound Education seminars download the itunes version here and the Android version here. ]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2.818 2013-04-29T13:30:46Z 2013-04-29T16:11:51Z

recently published BIAMP Sytems Whitepaper calls for acoustics to be given much greater consideration by building designers and engineers, policymakers

Colin Campbell This recently published BIAMP Sytems Whitepaper calls for acoustics to be given much greater consideration by building designers and engineers, policymakers, public service administrators, business leaders and property investors. Supported by The Sound Agency Julian Treasure writes how it pushes for a truly integrated approach to sound.]]> Click here to read the white paper Click here to see a summarised infographic about this]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2.816 2013-04-25T09:09:37Z 2013-04-25T10:40:33Z

The Lund University Sound Environment Center hosted the "Noise and disease" symposium in Lund, which featured presentations background and present status of noise research (see more info here). Sara Holmqvist, concept developer and Acoustic Bulletin editor took the opportunity...

Sara Holmqvist The Lund University Sound Environment Center hosted the "Noise and disease" symposium in Lund, which featured presentations background and present status of noise research (see more info here). Sara Holmqvist, concept developer and Acoustic Bulletin editor took the opportunity to talk to key note speaker Dr Wolfgang Babisch about his research from the early stages in his career, where we are today and where we are heading in noise research in the future. To see the interview please click on the image or here]]> here ]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2.817 2013-04-17T11:07:00Z 2013-04-17T15:12:10Z

Should we just accept that it takes 20 metres for the sound level of someone’s voice to drop to a comfortable non-distracting level, or should we reduce this to 10 metres so that workgroup-to-workgroup distractions are minimized? In the Nordic...

Ricardo Canto Leyton In the Nordic Innovation report “Acoustic design of open-plan offices” , it was found that in a Swedish call centre, when reducing the distance for the sound to drop from 60 to 40 dBA from more than 16m before acoustic refurbishment to less than 4m thereafter, the proportion of people rating their acoustical environment as “bad” was reduced from 40% to 10%, and the proportion rating it as “good” increased from 20% to 60%.]]> ISO3382-3:2012 "Acoustics -- Measurement of room acoustic parameters -- Part 3: Open plan offices", which explains how to measure acoustically in an open space office. The standard includes a recommendation saying that the distance for an average voice (~57dBA) to drop to 48dB should be around 4m. This correlates to our subjective experience of hearing the voice half as loud, so in laymen terms this means that in a good office, a voice should be half as loud at 4m distance from it. This is however, rarely the case, which can create an acoustical challenge in the office, not only in terms of comfort, but also in terms of stress, performance, job satisfaction etc. As open spaces become more and more common and activity based design increases, the acoustical challenge increases. It becomes more and more important to think of the resulting acoustics as a total solution, meaning building + workplace design + furniture + activity etc. But perhaps more importantly, the need to understand and use available acoustical standards as the ISO3382-3:2012 increases, as well. Luckely, it now seems that the leading acoustical simulation softwares have incorporated this standard into their softwares. A round table session regarding this topics called "Enhace your workplace with activity based acoustic design" will be held at the EFMC2013 in Prague May 24-25th. ]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2.496 2013-04-10T15:21:06Z 2013-04-10T16:31:47Z

An interesting article featured on Swedish radio website recently saying poor acoustics in school premises can lead to poor results. It highlights that students with non native language backgrounds do worse in school which may be partly due to...

Colin Campbell An interesting article featured on Swedish radio website recently saying poor acoustics in school premises can lead to poor results. It highlights that students with non native language backgrounds do worse in school which may be partly due to poor acoustics in classrooms. Research shows that it is more difficult to perceive all sounds in a language that don’t belong to one’s mother tongue. ]]> mother tongue linguistic foundations , says Stig Arlinger, professor of audiology at Linköping University.- If it is noisy and disturbing in the classroom, particularly for the students who do not have Swedish as their mother tongue, they have to concentrate much more to understand what is being said. These students then have less energy left in their brain to store, remember and learn, he says. Stig Arlinger thinks that worse grades can be partly explained by deficiencies in school sound environments. - The fact that they have a greater need for a quiet environment, means they require classrooms designed to provide as quiet an environment as possible, he says. Aalaa Tarnini, a student at the elementary school Akalla F-9, has noticed the difference when the school moved to the new building with the many sound absorbing panels. - It is much quieter which helps me work in peace also, I can concentrate more easily. It's great with a grouproom with doors, because it is much more pleasant to be in here. Students outside the group room cannot hear us and we cannot hear them, says Aalaa Tarnini. For more info on this article and to listen in Swedish click here ]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2.819 2013-04-09T17:53:05Z 2013-04-26T08:02:21Z

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 March 26th 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 March 26th to all our subscribers. Subcribe today to stay fully updated.]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2.814 2013-03-26T13:50:00Z 2013-03-26T15:55:11Z

A survey of 2000 workers in the UK has revealed that people find difficulties concentrating and are not satisfied with their privacy. Almost 80% of those surveyed work in open plan or shared offices. When asked what they thought...

Ricardo Canto Leyton A survey of 2000 workers in the UK has revealed that people find difficulties concentrating and are not satisfied with their privacy. Almost 80% of those surveyed work in open plan or shared offices. When asked what they thought about the current acoustic environment in their office, more than half of respondents (54%) said working in an open-plan workspace sometimes makes it difficult for them to concentrate and do their job.]]> http://technews.tmcnet.com/news/2013/03/08/6978105.htm]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2.811 2013-03-25T12:29:00Z 2013-03-26T15:56:17Z

Acoustic Bulletin would like to highlight a symposium on noise and disease arranged by the Sound Environment Center at Lund University on 12 april 2013....

Sara Holmqvist Acoustic Bulletin would like to highlight a symposium on noise and disease arranged by the Sound Environment Center at Lund University on 12 april 2013. ]]> here ]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2.804 2013-03-22T15:33:19Z 2013-03-26T13:15:32Z

dramatic acoustic difference in two similar lecture rooms

Colin Campbell Mikolaj Jarosz, Concept Developer for educational premises in Poland speaks and demonstrates the dramatic acoustic difference in two similar lecture rooms. After the acoustic refurbishment of one of the lecture rooms at Krakow Technical University (PK) in Poland it is now possible to hear the difference as experienced by EDUnet and captured on a phone during a recent meeting there. ]]> Click here to see and hear and the dramatic difference. For more info contact Mikolaj Jarosz.]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2.810 2013-03-21T09:39:47Z 2013-03-26T14:15:06Z

The conception that critically ill patients are too ill to reflect on their sound environment in the intensive care unit needs to be revised. This was one of the conclusions Swedish researchers made in a qualitative study on patient...

Sara Holmqvist The conception that critically ill patients are too ill to reflect on their sound environment in the intensive care unit needs to be revised. This was one of the conclusions Swedish researchers made in a qualitative study on patient experiences of their stay in intensive care. ]]> here ]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2.807 2013-03-20T11:17:52Z 2013-03-26T15:33:33Z

Shane Cryer and Simon Smith presented about the importance of good classroom acoustics to teachers and head teachers during the seminars programme.

Colin Campbell Last week saw an increased focus on classroom acoustics at the Education Show event ath the NEC, Birmingham. The Big Noise Survey was launched and Shane Cryer and Simon Smith presented about the importance of good classroom acoustics to teachers and head teachers during the seminars programme. Shane Cryer, local Concept Developer for education environments caught up with some key acoustic influencers and enthusiasts during the show.]]> Big Noise Survey which aims to raise awareness about the importance of good acoustics for teachers to an audience of teachers, Shane Cryer interviewed the following at The Education Show NEC Birmingham Simon Smith - Learning Environments Manager, Sweyne Park School Essex; "There are a lot of ordinary teachers here who go face to face with children and firstly I want them to understand and realise that acoustics is important and second, they can do something about it and it’s not always rocket science, you can do something about poor acoustic conditions and if we can get this message across to ordinary teachers I will be happy." Jack Harvie-Clark, Director at Apex Acoustics Ltd, representing the ANC; "Once Simon has got his very important message across that something can be done that schools are noisy places – a member of the Association of Noise Consultants can help the architect to design the school better acoustically to make it quieter make speech more intelligible and improve pupil behaviour reduce the strain on teachers voices then everyone will be in a better place." Alan Knibb retired Former Senior Engineer Essex Council; "I think the most important thing we have learned from the Essex Study is the fact the benefits and values of good quality acoustics in the classroom, all children whether they have a hearing impairment or not , benefit as a result of good acoustics. The teaching staff also benefit greatly with less stress on their voices and the costs associated with the acoustics is very small and it can be retrofitted without too much problem." Andrew Parkin Acoustics Director Cundall and Chair of Education comittiee in ANC; "I think the (Survey will tell us probably what we already know we suspect, that a lot of the school out there are not really suitable for their intended use. The thing that the Essex Study has shown us; we’ve known for ages that acoustics in schools is critical, you can’t have poor acoustics in schools and expect to be able to learn well and teach well, it just doesn’t work. The things that the Essex Study has shown us it that it is not just the reverberation time being controlled and moderated but also the background noise and the fact that by reduction in classroom babble but controlling reverberation in the room, that then provides a much calmer environment in which makes the teacher a lot more able to project their voice over that level and be then be better understood. The other thing that it’s helped us appreciate is that a lot of people have been a bit nervous as to whether you can make a classroom too dead acoustically and people have been a bit wary of getting the reverberation time too low thinking; well maybe if it is so low then people will not be able to understand but the Essex Study has really shown that you can drag it (the reverberation time) right the way down to 0.4(seconds) even across the frequency bands and get really good speech communication. So that’s fantastic! What can the ANC offer a school that thinks they have poor acoustics? The ANC (The Association of Noise Consultants) is the professional body representing noise consultants in the UK. So our membership are available around the UK to react to local schools, to contractors on a national level to help evaluate and see what problems there are, if indeed there are problems and if there are we can recommend solutions and ways of getting around the problem, so it’s really assisting to get the environment better." Interesting additional comment from Dawn Herrity – Teacher, Birmingham, who visited the Big Noise Survey launch stand at the Education show. "We have just moved from an old noisy school, in our new quieter school the whole energy is completely different, the children are much calmer, easier to teach." For more info contact Shane Cryer.]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2.809 2013-03-19T09:36:05Z 2013-03-26T16:07:55Z

A recent BBC article discussed our early understanding of the disturbance of unwanted sounds from Roman times up to and including today where you can watch a short film where Prof. Bridget Shield of London South Bank University (LSBU) and...

Colin Campbell A recent BBC article discussed our early understanding of the disturbance of unwanted sounds from Roman times up to and including today where you can watch a short film where Prof. Bridget Shield of London South Bank University (LSBU) and the current President of the Institute of Acoustics in the UK and Charles Dance also from LSBU outline the typical everyday issues in London where man made sounds are increasingly amplified by man made buildings. here In addition to this, a survey "Hear a pin drop here" was launched recently to help assess the sould levels in urban areas]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2.806 2013-03-08T09:45:38Z 2013-03-13T12:35:10Z

The Big Noise Survey is a project which aims to raise the profile of the need for good acoustics in schools, and highlight the effect on teachers’ health

Colin Campbell The Big Noise Survey is a project which aims to raise the profile of the need for good acoustics in schools, and highlight the effect on teachers’ health. The survey will launch next week at The Education Show at the NEC, UK. ]]> The Big Noise Survey website or by visiting stand J60 at The Education Show next week. This Project is supported by the ANC (Association of noise Consultants), Sound Education, the BATOD foundation and Saint-Gobain Ecophon. The Big Noise Survey builds on the issues raised in the international Sound Education seminars in 2012. These seminars were exclusive events which explored and revealed some disturbing facts and exciting news about auditory environments in schools. It was these presentations that highlighted the need to continue to raise awareness around classroom acoustics. The presentations can be seen on You Tube here. For more detailed info, please email Shane Cryer, Education Concept Developer at Saint-Gobain Ecophon via shane.cryer@ecophon.co.uk ]]> tag:www.acousticbulletin.com,2013:/EN//2.813 2013-03-01T12:00:00Z 2013-03-26T14:58:45Z

The german facility management yearly event took place in Frankfurt 26-28 of Frebruary, and for the first time ever room acoustics was on the agenda. Rainer Machner, concept developer office DE, was one of the speakers in this 2h...

Ricardo Canto Leyton The german facility management yearly event took place in Frankfurt 26-28 of Frebruary, and for the first time ever room acoustics was on the agenda. Rainer Machner, concept developer office DE, was one of the speakers in this 2h session, focusing on explaining the ISO3382-3 standard for open plan offices. ]]> http://www.mesago.de/de/FM/Fuer_Besucher/Kongress/index.htm Link to proceedings: http://www.mesago.de/en/FM/The_conference/Proceedings/index.htm For more information please contact Rainer Machner]]>