Showing papers on "Annoyance published in 1976"

Scaling loudness, noisiness, and annoyance of community noises

Abstract: The contribution of type and sound levels of community noises to the perception of loudness, noisiness, and annoyance was studied in a laboratory situation. The psychological attributes were precisely defined to the 30 observers, the method of magnitude estimation was used for scaling the attributes, and the scales were calibrated to a common unit of measurement. It was demonstrated that observers in carefully designed laboratory experiments are able to use and produce scales of loudness, noisiness, and annoyance for community noise. The relationships between the attributes were satisfactorily described by linear functions, the parameters being specific to the type of community noise. In general, community noises are judged to be more noisy (or annoying) than loud although the importance of noisiness relative to loudness varies with type of noise as well as loudness level. A linear model is suggested that describes community noises with regard to perceptual attributes. The model states that annoyance and ...

Subjective assessment of simulated helicopter blade-slap noise

Abstract: The effects of several characteristics of helicopter blade slap upon human annoyance are examined Blade slap noise was simulated by using continuous and impulsive noises characterized by five parameters: The number of sine waves in a single impulse; the frequency of the sine waves; the impulse repetition frequency; the sound pressure level (SPL) of the continuous noise; and the idealized crest factor of the impulses Ten second samples of noise were synthesized with each of the five parameters at representative levels The annoyance of each noise was judged by 40 human subjects Analysis of the subjective data indicated that each of the five parameters had a statistically significant effect upon the annoyance judgments The impulse crest factor and SPL of the continuous noise had very strong positive relationships with annoyance The other parameters had smaller, but still significant, effects upon the annoyance judgments

Analysis of the effect of numbers of aircraft operations on community annoyance

Abstract: The general validity of the equivalent-energy concept as applied to community annoyance to aircraft noise has been recently questioned by investigators using a peak-dBA concept. Using data previously gathered around nine U.S. airports, empirical tests of both concepts are presented. Results show that annoyance response follows neither concept, that annoyance increases steadily with energy-mean level for constant daily operations and with numbers of operations up to 100-199 per day (then decreases for higher numbers), and that the behavior of certain response descriptors is dependent upon the statistical distributions of numbers and levels.

The Assessment of Annoyance Due to Train Noise

Abstract: To fulfill the need for an assessment scale for determination of annoyance due to train noise a project was instituted the Noise Pollution Control Section of the Ministry of the Environment and financed throught the Experience '75 scheme. The objectives of the project, as relevant to this paper, were to perform noise measurements at various sites close to railway tracks in the Metro Toronto area; to analyze these noise measurements on a day, evening and night basis to yield different statistical parameters and also train parameters such as audible train duration; to perform interviews with people living close to the monitoring locations; to correlate the noise descriptors with the sociological survey results; to choose the most appropriate noise descriptor and finally to construct a train noise annoyance rating scale based on this noise descriptor. The overall objectives of the project were wide and not confined to the investigation of train noise annoyance. Much socio-economic data were obtained as well as information on the assessment of other noise sources. This report will be concerned only with the train noise aspects of the project.

Designing a national study of railway noise in great britain

Abstract: Phase I of a two-phase project to investigate railway noise in Great Britain is now in the data collection stage. Two major problems, subjects of this paper, have been site selection procedure and noise measurement methodology. Using a statistically drawn sample, a map-based noise level prediction method and an efficient noise measurement strategy, it has been possible to simultaneously estimate the proportion of residences in such proximity to rail lines that they may be annoyed by train noise, test all reasonable hypotheses about the causes and correlations of railway noise annoyance, and derive a mathematical model of physical characteristics of railway noise annoyance.

Effects of traffic noise: South east freeway, Brisbane

Abstract: A survey was conducted of 288 residents living within 100m of the South east freeway, Brisbane, to determine the magnitude and distribution of the effects of the freeway traffic noise. Respondents were asked to self report their annoyance and were questioned regarding other effects of noise such as shutting of windows and disturbance to sleep. The location of respondents reporting each effect is shown. The distribution of annoyance scores is discussed in terms of the freeway geometry, and an attempt is made to relate annoyance to distance from the freeway. The validity of the annoyance scale used was established by its correlation with the reporting of other effects of traffic noise (a).

Toward a community impact measure for assessment of transportation noise

Abstract: Despite improvements in techniques for measuring and predicting transportation noise, no one has yet developed a reliable method for identifying the total impact on a community of the noise generated by a proposed transportation facility. A procedure, the noise annoyance impact, is developed for measuring this total impact in a variety of units. In essence, the noise annoyance impact transforms noise measurements for a particular location into a number representing the average impact of such noise on people, multiplies this number by the number of people in that location, and sums this result over the full extent of the area. A sample application, based on two proposed highway alignments for an urban area, used the traffic noise index and the noise pollution level to represent the noise and the data from an earlier survey by the Building Research Station in England to specify the percentage of the population annoyed at a particular reading of a traffic noise index or noise pollution level. The resulting noise annoyance impact was thus expressed as the total number of people annoyed. The noise impact is easy to interpret and, therefore, provides a measure of the total areal impact of noise that can be used effectively in public participation efforts. In addition, the formulation of the noise annoyance impact is mathematically sound. It permits combination of all of the pertinent noise data for the full study area into a single number. Although further research is necessary to specify more accurately the relationship between noise and the percentage of population annoyed or any other measure of average noise impact, the principles of the noise annoyance impact can be applied now.

Socioeconomic factors as determinants of noise acceptance

Abstract: Among the many factors that influence residents living ajacent to a major transportation facility is noise. Since the ultimate criteria of public acceptance are based on annoyance levels rather than absolute noise levels, an investigation was undertaken concerning the relationship between annoyance and socioeconomic characteristics, such as social status, length of residence, and age, in primarily single-residence neighborhoods. Criteria for selection of the study areas were variation of neighborhood age, homogeneity, property values, proximity to a noise- generating transportation system, and freedom from other major noise generators, such as airport flight patterns. Although traffic volumes ranged from 84,000 to 52,000 average daily traffic, the noise levels were fairly similar in the study areas. The current assessed value of each improved residential property abutting the highway was obtained from the property tax assessors of Jefferson and Denver counties in Colorado. A total of 110 residences were sampled from a total population of 170 to determine the quantity and characteristics of highway noise annoyance. The results of this investigation show that socioeconomic variables explain only 5.6 percent of the variance in annoyance and that further investigation is not warranted.

Physiological and Irritating Effects of Indoor Air Pollution due to Cigarette Smoke

Abstract: Subjects were exposed in a climatic chamber during 28 min to cigarette smoke produced by a smoking machine. The concentrations of CO, NO, NO2, formaldehyde and acrolein were recorded. We measured eye blinking rate, FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in one sec), MMF (maximal mid-expiratory flow), irritating effects and annoyance. Irritation (eyes and nose), annoyance and blinking rate showed an increase in relation to the number of smoked cigarettes, i.e. to the concentration of pollutants. There was a correlation between blinking rate and eye irritation in the first half of exposure. Annoyance about air quality and the wish to open the windows or to leave the room proved to be a very susceptible criterion.