•Water sounds and ratings of soundscape quality were not directly related.•Using water sounds to mask road-traffic noise is not simple and straight forward.•Water sounds may affect the audibility of ...wanted as well as unwanted sounds.•Water features ought to be pre-tested before constructed.
A field experiment was conducted to explore whether water sounds from a fountain had a positive impact on soundscape quality in a downtown park. In total, 405 visitors were recruited to answer a questionnaire on how they perceived the park, including its acoustic environment. Meanwhile the fountain was turned on or off, at irregular hours. Water sounds from the fountain were not directly associated with ratings of soundscape quality. Rather, the predictors of soundscape quality were the variables “Road-traffic noise” and “Other natural sounds”. The former had a negative and the latter a positive impact. However, water sounds may have had an indirect impact on soundscape quality by affecting the audibility of road-traffic and natural sounds. The present results, obtained in situ, agree with previous results in soundscape research that the sounds perceived—particularly roadtraffic and natural sounds—explain soundscape quality. They also agree with the results from laboratory studies that water sounds may mask road-traffic sounds, but that this is not simple and straight forward. Thus sound should be brought into the design scheme when introducing water features in urban open spaces, and their environmental impact must be thoroughly assessed empirically.
Den nuvarande metoden för att behandla handledsfrakturer, specifikt reponeringen (återföring till rätt position) av enklare frakturer, kräver idag två till tre personer med en behandlingstid på cirka ...20 minuter. 25 000 personer drabbas av handledsfrakturer varje år i Sverige, där majoriteten är just av den enklare sorten som inte kräver operation. Denna metod ansågs för tidskrävande och dessutom för smärtsam för patienten enligt Rami Elias, ortopedisk kirurg på Specialistcenter Scandinavia. Ett hjälpmedel utvecklades utifrån dessa problem och krav från uppdragsgivaren. En funktionell prototyp byggdes och blev testad. Det nya hjälpmedlet gav prov på en minskad tidsåtgång och skonsammare behandling för patienten.
The current method for treating wrist fractures, specifically reduction (repositioning the bones) of simple fractures, require two to three people with a treatment time of about 20 minutes. 25,000 people are affected by wrist fractures each year in Sweden, where the majority of these are of the simpler variety that does not require surgery. This method was considered too time consuming and also too painful for the patients according to Rami Elias, orthopedic surgeon at Specialistcenter Scandinavia. An assistance tool was developed based on these issues and demands of the client. A functional prototype was built and tested. The new tool showed evidence of providing reduced treatment time and being less harmful to the patients.
The amount of noise in urban settings is steadily on the rise, creating a potential health hazard and causing a general nuisance. In major European cities, noise levels are so high that the majority ...of urban parks can no longer truly serve as recreational environments, a problem the World Health Organization and the European Union are attempting to address. This study explores various strategies that promote the sustainable development of urban soundscapes at locations meant for rest, recreation, and social interaction. Further, we look at how people are affected by the combined effects of traffic and nature sounds in parks and other outdoor settings. To this end, we adopted a new track — the use of interdisciplinary methodology — that brings together architectural analysis, artistic experiments, and psychoacoustic methodology to evaluate the aesthetic, emotional, perceptual, and spatial effects of noise on subjects spending time in public open-air spaces. We conducted a large-scale case study at a city park to explore whether subjects were affected by purposely distributed sounds and, if so, how. The working hypothesis was that it is possible to cancel out or mute traffic noise by affecting individuals' aural perceptions using a process known as informational masking. Our long-term objective is to create a scientific foundation for action plans, both preemptive and troubleshooting, targeting noise reduction in parks and similar public spaces that are meant to provide a relaxing environment.
Modelling the Shopping Soundscape Hellström, Björn; Sjösten, Per; Hultqvist, Anders ...
Journal of sonic studies,
2011, Letnik:
1, Številka:
1
Journal Article
This article’s pivotal theme is: “How to compose a site-specific sound-art installation for a commercial space in order to improve conditions, while taking perceptual, social, aesthetical, temporal ...and spatial criteria into account”
The interdisciplinary, art-based research approach is derived from the concept of acousmatics, i.e. the process of apprehending any sound, the source of which is invisible. Acousmatic perception concerns the everyday identification process; when lacking visual contact with the sound source, we automatically seek references, such as social (what produces the sound and what is my relation to it?), aesthetical, spatial and temporal (e.g. orientation and demarcation). The acousmatic concept identifies phenomena based on individually, culturally and spatially conditioned experiences.
Today, a shopping culture dominates urban space. Indoor malls expose us to all types of acousmatically perceived sounds: jingles, signals, music and muzak from public loudspeakers, mobile devices, etc. In this respect, one could claim that the soundscape of the shopping culture embodies an acousmatic environment.
In 2009, the research and sound-art group Urban Sound Institute (USIT) created a permanent sound installation in a shopping mall (Gallerian) located in downtown Stockholm. This installation serves as a case study for the present paper. The artistic assignment involved the creation of a meeting place without material devices as well as the enhancement of the overall atmosphere. The research objective was to elucidate different qualities of the sound installation in regard to the acousmatics of the shopping mall, promoting discussions on the articulation of sound-space configurations in relation to time and site-specific context, issues on musical-architectural qualities as well as objective, subjective and inter-subjective interrelationships between the experience of the sound-art installation and the experience of the shopping mall soundscape. Other applied, interrelated concepts are metabolic environment and masking- and cutting effects.
The strategy when you change the visual part of the brand identity is often referred to as Corporate rebranding and is seen as a good way to show that a company has undergone a change. Despite high ...risks and high costs, this strategy has become more common and there are companies today who make the choice to change an already well-known graphic profile. This phenomenon is what underlies this essay’s problem statement: Why does a company with an already well-known graphic profile choose to change it and how does the process behind the change occur? In what way have the company’s customers recognized the change and how has the company’s image changed in this context? The purpose of this essay is therefore to explore the process that occurs when a company in the sport and fashion industry changes its visual identity and to explore how the company’s customers have perceived the change. To fulfil the purpose of the essay a case study was carried out on a company’s Corporate rebranding process. The company that was chosen was the Swedish sports retail chain Stadium Sweden AB who decided to change its graphic profile even though their logo was one of the two most recognized in their field. With the help of existing theories on brands and Corporate rebranding two interviews and a survey was conducted for this study. After this case study we have come to the following conclusions; The reason for the brand change was primarily the need to modernize the graphic profile in context of a larger reorganization of the company. The process can be described in four main phases: Initiation phase, Planning phase, Development phase and Launch and implementation phase. The study also showed that most of the customers had noticed the change and that the company’s image had changed for the better as they managed to maintain the core values of the brand while making it more contemporary and unique. We have also come up with three propositions that can be used in future research on this subject: 1. A reason for a brand change might be that the old graphic profile needs to be modernized to practically suit new media, 2. The choice of the Phase in/Phase out strategy is controlled by the availability of various resources and 3. To distance the brand from its heritage doesn’t need to be a pitfall for a brand change.
Självständigt arbete på grundnivå (kandidatexamen)
10 poäng / 15 hp
The strategy when you change the visual part of the brand identity is often referred to as Corporate rebranding and is seen as a ...good way to show that a company has undergone a change. Despite high risks and high costs, this strategy has become more common and there are companies today who make the choice to change an already well-known graphic profile. This phenomenon is what underlies this essay’s problem statement: Why does a company with an already well-known graphic profile choose to change it and how does the process behind the change occur? In what way have the company’s customers recognized the change and how has the company’s image changed in this context? The purpose of this essay is therefore to explore the process that occurs when a company in the sport and fashion industry changes its visual identity and to explore how the company’s customers have perceived the change.
To fulfil the purpose of the essay a case study was carried out on a company’s Corporate rebranding process. The company that was chosen was the Swedish sports retail chain Stadium Sweden AB who decided to change its graphic profile even though their logo was one of the two most recognized in their field. With the help of existing theories on brands and Corporate rebranding two interviews and a survey was conducted for this study.
After this case study we have come to the following conclusions; The reason for the brand change was primarily the need to modernize the graphic profile in context of a larger reorganization of the company. The process can be described in four main phases: Initiation phase, Planning phase, Development phase and Launch and implementation phase. The study also showed that most of the customers had noticed the change and that the company’s image had changed for the better as they managed to maintain the core values of the brand while making it more contemporary and unique.
We have also come up with three propositions that can be used in future research on this subject: 1. A reason for a brand change might be that the old graphic profile needs to be modernized to practically suit new media, 2. The choice of the Phase in/Phase out strategy is controlled by the availability of various resources and 3. To distance the brand from its heritage doesn’t need to be a pitfall for a brand change.
The strategy when you change the visual part of the brand identity is often referred to as Corporate rebranding and is seen as a good way to show that a company has undergone a change. Despite high risks and high costs, this strategy has become more common and there are companies today who make the choice to change an already well-known graphic profile. This phenomenon is what underlies this essay’s problem statement: Why does a company with an already well-known graphic profile choose to change it and how does the process behind the change occur? In what way have the company’s customers recognized the change and how has the company’s image changed in this context? The purpose of this essay is therefore to explore the process that occurs when a company in the sport and fashion industry changes its visual identity and to explore how the company’s customers have perceived the change.
To fulfil the purpose of the essay a case study was carried out on a company’s Corporate rebranding process. The company that was chosen was the Swedish sports retail chain Stadium Sweden AB who decided to change its graphic profile even though their logo was one of the two most recognized in their field. With the help of existing theories on brands and Corporate rebranding two interviews and a survey was conducted for this study.
After this case study we have come to the following conclusions; The reason for the brand change was primarily the need to modernize the graphic profile in context of a larger reorganization of the company. The process can be described in four main phases: Initiation phase, Planning phase, Development phase and Launch and implementation phase. The study also showed that most of the customers had noticed the change and that the company’s image had changed for the better as they managed to maintain the core values of the brand while making it more contemporary and unique.
We have also come up with three propositions that can be used in future research on this subject: 1. A reason for a brand change might be that the old graphic profile needs to be modernized to practically suit new media, 2. The choice of the Phase in/Phase out strategy is controlled by the availability of various resources and 3. To distance the brand from its heritage doesn’t need to be a pitfall for a brand change.
Självständigt arbete på grundnivå (kandidatexamen)
10 poäng / 15 hp
Two large sound installations, developed by transdisciplinary sound art and research group Urban Sound Institute, created a meeting place for one year of artistic and pedagogic activity in a Swedish ...regional museum. The project involved a historic sound archive, a string quartet, a local radio station, pedagogic workshops, several schools, children’s groups and musical education programs. The installations created a complexity of interior spaces, and acted as huge musical instruments to be ‘played’ by professional musicians, dancers and visitors. Through advanced computer programming and careful composition, modeling and distribution of sounds as words, narratives, music, space, bodily experiences and memory, the Sound Labyrinth allowed for great variations, durability over time, and different forms of interaction. The article describes the project, and discusses the exhibition as a platform for collective, multiple interaction; as an expanded musical-architectonic composition; and as a contribution to artistic research methodologies relevant for sound spaces within so-called sound-making disciplines.
This paper will discuss the use of psychoacoustic evaluation as a tool for optimization of the soundscape simulator developed in the Listen project. The listen project is a three-year research ...project focused around developing a demonstrator, which auralizes the sound environment produced by road and railway traffic. The resolution of the parameter space of the simulator heavily influences the performance of the simulator. The perceptual resolution of the parameter space is investigated and the resolution is adjusted accordingly. The most important parameter is velocity. Adjustments of the resolution of this parameter alone gives a 60% reduction of the usage of memory.
PDF
