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How does activity affect soundscape assessments? Insights from an urban soundscape intervention with music
Abstract
The relationship between activity and soundscape has recently garnered research attention, particularly in public spaces. In the summer of 2015, we installed an interactivesound system (Musikiosk) in a busy public park allowing users to play their own content over high-quality speakers. Questionnaires (N = 197) were administered over 3 conditions: pre-installation with park users, during the installation phase with Musikiosk users, and during the installation phase with park users not using Musikiosk. For users and observers of Musikiosk, a separate evaluation of the Musikiosk intervention was also included. The questionnaire included quantitative evaluations (soundscapes scale from Swedish Soundscape Quality Protocol, restorativeness, mood, noise sensitivity), free response data (soundscape description, self-reported activity, sound source identification, reasons for park visit), and demographic info (age, interaction with others, proximity of residence). The qualitative descriptions of activity and sound sources were categorized into emergent themes. Presented here is the analysis of the interaction between activity and soundscape assessment in terms of quantitative variables and qualitative descriptions.
... However, it should be noted that the Quebec team, although they initially retained the unpleasant attribute, as the original scale from Axelsson et al. [6], ultimately decided to leave it out. In the few studies in which it was included [13,34,35], ratings along this attribute were strongly negatively correlated with pleasant ratings, and some participants highlighted the redundancy of rating both as separate unipolar scales. ...
Various translations of the eight attributes of the Perceived Affective Quality Scales included in the ISO/TS 12913-3 standard have been used in different languages. We report on differences in French translations observed across studies and geographical contexts. Specifically, we focus on insights gathered over the past 8 and 18 years on French translations used by two research teams in Quebec and France (respectively), as stabilizing particular attributes has proven challenging. These insights are complemented by an inductive analysis of free-format responses about the understanding and strategies used to evaluate the scales by 34 Quebec respondents. Both Quebec and French translation works converge for most of the attributes, both in the terms used and the issues raised. We conclude with recommendations to address the complexity of experiences related to soundscape and to continue exploring attributes, dimensions, and methods that might reinforce or complement the PAQS.
... The preference values of all natural sounds were more than other sound sources [40,41], which suggested that tourists had a significantly higher preference for natural sounds that showed positive effects on visiting experience [41][42][43]. Furthermore, we found that broadcasting music also had a relatively high preference, which may be related to the personal information of the participants, such as cultural background, age, etc. [44]. ...
Soundscapes are important resources and contribute to high-quality visiting experiences in scenic areas. Based on a public investigation of 195 interviewees in the Kulangsu scenic area, this study aimed to explore the relationships between the harmonious degree of sound sources (SHD) and visiting experience indicators, in terms of soundscape perception, as well as the satisfaction degree of visual landscape and comprehensive impression. The results suggested that the dominating positions of human sounds did not totally suppress the perception of natural sounds such as birdsong and sea waves in the scenic area. Natural sound sources also showed a higher harmonious degree than other artificial sounds. Significant relationships existed between the SHD of most sound sources and the visiting experience indicators. Natural sounds were closely related to pleasant and comfortable soundscape perception, while mechanical sound sources were mainly related to eventful and varied soundscapes. The close relationships between certain sound sources and the satisfaction degree of the visual landscape and comprehensive impression evaluation indicated the effectiveness of audiovisual and even multi-sensory approaches to enhance visiting experience. The structural equation model further revealed that (1) natural sound was the most influential sound source of soundscape and visual landscape perception; (2) human sounds and mechanical sounds all showed significant positive effects on soundscape perception; and (3) indirect relationships could exist in the SHD of sound sources with comprehensive impression evaluation. The results can facilitate targeted soundscape and landscape management and landsense creation with the aim of improving visiting experience.
... Soundscape research has indicated that activities play an important role in influencing users' auditory environment evaluations [11,12,13,14,15] as well as their spontaneous descriptions or categorizations, both on site and in laboratory conditions [26,17]. Despite this sparse scientifice vidence, studies explicitly and systematically focusing on the role of activity as potentially mediating auditory environment descriptions have yet to be conducted (see [18,19] for apilot study using an experimental setting and [20] for ap roposed larger scale experimental setup; [21]). This paper proposes an exploratory investigation into whether public space users' activities systematically influence the wayt heyd escribe their auditory environments, on site. ...
This paper is an exploration into whether public space users performing different activities describe their auditory environments in noticeably different ways. Building on soundscape and psycholinguistic literature, a questionnaire study was conducted in a large park in Amsterdam (NL), where 92 park users described, in writing, their activities and auditory environments. Users' self-reported activities were categorized based on their level of social interaction (solitary vs. socially interactive), and using open coding, generating categories of activities grouped by semantic range. The written corpus on auditory environment descriptions was analysed through a proposed classificatory framework, coding descriptions at three semantic and one syntactic level. We preliminarily tested whether there are associations between various categories of activities and of auditory environment descriptions, categorized at different levels. Our results suggest that, while for detailed levels of activity categorization there were no non-distinct patterns, the level of social interaction of users' activities has an observable effect over users' descriptions of their auditory environments. This holds particularly in relation to types of sounds listed, as well as for differences in descriptions at a syntactic level. These findings point towards subtly different auditory experiences in the same public space for users performing solitary or socially interactive activities.
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