User:Mechanicalsympathy/Soundscape evaluation

The following are two methods of evaluating a soundscape. Schafer describes a soundscape as any portion of the sonic environment regarded as a field for study(1). Both methods deal with Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) rather than acoustic ecology with an aim of gaining a deeper understanding how sound can directly influence the way in which we interact with our digital environment.

Domestic environment
In an effort to gain a deeper understanding of everyday listening practices, Gerard Oleksik, David Frohlich, Lorna M. Brown, and Abigail Sellen conducted research into the role of sound in the domestic environment. Seven households were selected for the study with the domestic soundscape being recognised as all sounds occurring in the home, from noises made by its contents to sounds made by the occupants. External noises were also included. The households were of different dwelling types and chosen to represent a wide range of sonic practices.

Method
The evaluation was carried out over two visits to each home. Home visit 1 would begin by getting a member of the household to conduct a sound tour of the home by going from room to room and talking about the sounds associated with each one. The participant was told to imagine the life of the room throughout the day and state the sounds that would result. They were then asked which of those sounds they liked and disliked. This allowed the research to build a sonic blueprint of the domestic environment.

The household members were then given mini voice recorders and a series of instructions to be completed for the next visit. They were to asked to record the following sounds: One sound they liked One sound they disliked Sounds that remind them of home Sounds they would like to keep Their favourite sound in the house During home visit 2 these sound diaries were then played back to the participants and their reactions to them were discussed. An in-depth interview was also conducted during this visit and covered topics such as the ownership of sound in the home, how the sound was managed, the recording of sound in the home, how sound was communicated in the home, and the improvement of sound in the home.

Result
This approach to sound evaluation offers a fresh insight into gathering data as the occupants had an emotional connection with the sounds Once these results were analysed, the findings could be categorised into four sections

Professional environment evaluation
Catriona Macaulay and Alison Crerar’s research was conducted over a period of a year in the office of UK national daily newspaper The Scotsman. It was the aim of this research to demonstrate how the auditory aspects of the work place had been overlooked and how an acoustic approach to the contextual use of computer systems could benefit both the designers and users of such interfaces.

Method
Information was gathered in a number of ways during the one year study: Participant observation Interviews Documentary materials gathering Historical/desk research The interviews and observations were conducted in all the principle editorial departments, the transcripts of which were coded for themes using Ethnograph software.

Result
The soundscape was categorised into three dimensions: Sound type (speech, music, non-speech/everyday, non-speech/abstract) Acoustical information level (background, foreground and contextual) Information category (Visible/hidden/imagined, entities/events, passing of time, position in space, patterns in entities/events and emotions) A 3D map of the soundscape was then produced to represent the findings. The mapping of a soundscape in this manner allows a sufficient level of detail to be represented and serves as a useful means of displaying the main elements in an auditory environment.

Conclusion
Sound has a great impact on how we interact with the world around us and it is important that they are correctly assessed in order for them to be improved upon. Both these methods take advantage of the people who not only know the sounds intimately because they experience them on a daily basis, but that also have an emotional attachment to them. Macauley and Crerar’s 3D map is of great benefit as it creates a visual medium by which we can assess the audible environment thus providing us with a fresh way to approach sound.