Showing papers on "Annoyance published in 2002"

Prosody-based automatic detection of annoyance and frustration in human-computer dialog.

Abstract: We investigate the use of prosody for the detection of frustr ation and annoyance in natural human-computer dialog. In addition to prosodic features, we examine the contribution of language model information and speaking “style”. Results show that a prosodic model can predict whether an utterance is neutral ve sus “annoyed or frustrated” with an accuracy on par with that of human interlabeler agreement. Accuracy increases when dis criminating only “frustrated” from other utterances, and when u sing only those utterances on which labelers originally agreed. Furthermore, prosodic model accuracy degrades only slightly when u si g recognized versus true words. Language model features, eve n if based on true words, are relatively poor predictors of frust ration. Finally, we find that hyperarticulation is not a good predict or of emotion; the two phenomena often occur independently.

Annoyance Caused by Exposure to Road Traffic Noise: An Update.

Abstract: This paper addresses the negative effects resulting from the exposure to road traffic noise on people's well being with a focus on annoyance. Following the observations that noise exposures engender physiological reactions typical of stress, the non-auditory effects of noise on humans are generally viewed as being stress-related, and annoyance is one of the first and most direct reactions to environmental noise. In general terms, it is found that the continuous exposure of people to road traffic noise leads to suffering from various kinds of discomfort thus reducing appreciably the number of their well being elements. However drawing such a conclusion is hindered by difficulties when non-acoustical factors like sensitivity, socio-economic situation and age are also taken into account along with the usual acoustical factors of road traffic noise. The results of several decades of research on this topic have permitted lately to establish a quantitative relationship between the objective quantities characterizing road traffic noise, namely the day to night noise level, and the human subjective reaction to it as expressed by the percentage of highly annoyed people. These findings are important at both the society and the individual level in as much as they may help in regulating in a more efficient way the planning of road traffic activity in order to secure minimum comfort to the affected population.

Social survey of community response to a step change in aircraft noise exposure.

Abstract: Community response to a step change in aircraft noise exposure associated with the opening of a new runway at Vancouver International Airport was documented in two rounds of telephone interviews. One round of interviews was conducted 15 months prior to the start of operations on the new runway, while a second round of interviews was undertaken 21 months after the start of operations. The proportion of respondents who described themselves as “very” or “extremely” annoyed by aircraft noise in a residential area with increased aircraft noise exposure after the runway opening was markedly greater than that predictable from well-known dosage–response relationships. Analysis suggests that a good part of the “excess” annoyance is attributable to the net influence of nonacoustic factors.

Fuzzy models for accumulation of reported community noise annoyance from combined sources.

Abstract: Many scientists have investigated noise annoyance caused by combined sources. However, general annoyance reported in a social survey still has many unknown features. In this work the cognitive process involved in coming to a general noise rating based on a known, in context, rating of annoyance by particular sources is studied. A comparison of classical and fuzzy models is used for this. The new fuzzy linguistic models give a meaning to the successful strongest component or dominant source model that was used in previous work. They also explain to some extent particular features not included in that previous model. The variance not predicted by the fuzzy linguistic model is contrasted with personal data of the test subjects (age, gender, and education level) and the context of the question in the questionnaire. Only age seems to play a significant role.

Influences of current mood and noise sensitivity on judgments of noise annoyance.

Abstract: Noise annoyance is one of the most studied reactions to auditory events. Previous research has demonstrated that annoyance reactions may be mediated by individual characteristics such as personality, attitudes, and noise sensitivity (traits). Transient temporary states such as an individual's current mood have been studied to a lesser extent. The author studied annoyance reactions to an everyday noise in participants who either were slightly annoyed or in a neutral affective state. The results showed that current mood had an overall effect on judgments of annoyance and on a participant's preference for sound. In addition, a participant's current mood interacted with noise sensitivity. These results indicate that both individual noise sensitivity (traits) and transient moods (states) are important for human auditory perception and evaluation.

The Meaning of Annoyance in Relation to the Quality of Acoustic Environments.

Abstract: A supportive environment should take care of health. It is an environment that provides complete physical, mental and social well-being. It is not suffiently characterized by infirmity or the absence of disease. It should trigger good feelings and safety (WHO, 2000). Interdisciplinary procedures are needed that include acoustics, physics, psychology, and sociology when a survey on perception of acoustic environments is carried out under the aspect of comfort. It is necessary to combine methods with different sensibilities in order to measure the subjective perception of noise in such an environment. The context, the focus of attention, and the knowledge of past experiences must be taken into account. (Ipsen, 2001) These three conditions are required to implement an adequate measurement. Subject-centred methodological procedures should be used to develop a suitable measurement procedure. Such procedures will be presented with the aim to improve social surveys that especially address the meaning of annoyance in an acoustic environment and the contribution of a soundscape.

Relationship between low-frequency aircraft noise and annoyance due to rattle and vibration.

Abstract: A near-replication of a study of the annoyance of rattle and vibration attributable to aircraft noise [Fidell et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 106, 1408–1415 (1999)] was conducted in the vicinity of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). The findings of the current study were similar to those reported earlier with respect to the types of objects cited as sources of rattle in homes, frequencies of notice of rattle, and the prevalence of annoyance due to aircraft noise-induced rattle. A reliably lower prevalence rate of annoyance (but not of complaints) with rattle and vibration was noted among respondents living in homes that had been treated to achieve a 5-dB improvement in A-weighted noise reduction than among respondents living in untreated homes. This difference is not due to any substantive increase in low-frequency noise reduction of acoustically treated homes, but may be associated with installation of nonrattling windows. Common interpretations of the prevalence of a consequential degree of annoyance attributable to low-frequency aircraft noise may be developed from the combined results of the present and prior studies.

Psychological reactions related to chemosensory irritation.

Abstract: Objectives: For risk assessments of solvents the knowledge on chemosensory irritation effects is important, but the methodological base for that is incomplete. The psychological approach measuring chemosensory irritations leans on perceived symptoms and self-reported changes of well being. Characteristics assessing the validity of such psychological approaches are presented. Methods: The article is based on 14 experimental inhalation studies with (mostly) 4-h exposures to acetone, 2-butanone, ethanol, ethyl acetate, ethyl benzene, iso-propanol, 1-octanol, and styrene. The profiles of exposure include constant and changing concentrations using the range of the German maximum concentrations at the workplace (MAK) list. Irritations (eyes and nose), olfactory symptoms (odour), and annoyance are the dependent variables measured by ratings. Young and healthy subjects (n=160), – partially, subjects with self-reported odour sensitivity (measured by items from the questionnaire on chemical and general environmental sensitivity) – were investigated. Results: The reliability of ratings is sufficient. Dose–response relationships for perceived odour and annoyance are stronger than those for irritations. A ranked order of the size of effect (related to the values before exposure) for the substances investigated shows correspondence between odour and annoyance; that for irritation differs. Within the limits of the MAK list, perceived irritations are not correlated to annoyance, whereas perceived bad smell correlates significantly to annoyance. Reversibility of the self-reported effects to approximately the pre-exposure level can be shown 1 h after cessation of the experimental exposure for the "normal" subjects. Influences of trait anxiety and chemical sensitivity on reports of annoyance, bad odour or irritation are only weak. Conclusion: The psychological approach of repeated measurements for self-reported irritation includes distinctive advantages compared with other methods, the simple and repeated availability during exposure, the sufficient reliability and dose–response relationship, and the comparability between substances by means of effect size. The extension of the concept of "chemosensory irritations" on reports for annoyance and bad smell can be recommended.

Temporal and Spatial Factors of Traffic Noise and Its Annoyance

Abstract: This paper describes and demonstrates procedures for indexing temporal and spatial factors of traffic noise, and report a laboratory experiment investigating the relationship between these indices and subjective annoyance with the noise. Primary sensations (loudness, pitch, timbre) and spatial sensations (source location, diffuseness, source width) of sounds are described by the autocorrelation function (ACF) and the inter-aural cross-correlation function (IACF) respectively. Especially, we focused on the primary sensations of traffic noise in relation to the subjective annoyance. A laboratory experiment was designed to examine the validity of the proposed noise indices described in terms of the ACF. Scale values of subjective annoyance were measured by paired comparison. Results showed that the effects of temporal fluctuation of sound level, tonal properties, and fluctuation of pitch become significant predictors of annoyance when the subjects heard various types of traffic noise with equal listening level. Contributions of these parameters correspond with earlier findings relating to annoyance. Thus, the results suggest that the proposed ACF factors can be possible measures to evaluate perceived annoyance in addition to the overall SPL.

A comparison between an objective quality measure and the mean annoyance values of watermarked videos

Abstract: A comparison between an objective quality measure and the perceived mean annoyance values of watermarked videos is presented. A psychophysical experiment has been performed to measure the detection threshold and mean annoyance values of several watermarked videos, using two different marks. The results of this experiment were then compared with an objective quality measure, obtained through a tracing watermarking system. An estimation of the detection threshold of the watermarked videos was found.

On the Meaning of Noise Annoyance Modifiers: A Fuzzy Set Theoretical Approach

Abstract: Summary This paper reports on a fuzzy analysis of information gathered by many colleagues on the precise meaning of noise annoyance modifiers in 9 different languages. It is shown how fuzzy set theory can help us to construct a mathematical background for translating these modifiers between the languages concerned. A second goal of annoyance modifier research is to define labels to be used in noise annoyance surveys in order to obtain accurate and comparable results. Similarity measures used to compare fuzzy sets associated with verbal descriptors of annoyance levels indicate to what extent previously proposed labels [1] match between the languages considered. An ideal language from the fuzzy point of view where a continuous annoyance scale is exactly divided into equal parts is translated to these natural languages and results in an alternative selection of labels that are better suited for fuzzy calculus. In general this selection of labels corresponds quite well with the set proposed in [1] which is rather surprising since the fuzzy set approach lacks most of the human input used in the ICBEN selection procedure.

Night-time Noise Annoyance: State of the Art.

Abstract: The annoyance-reaction is one of the central variables in noise research After an introduction to different concepts and definitions of noise annoyance different scales of how noise annoyance can be measured are shown The question is discussed whether disturbance effects of noise at different times of day are given To clarify this problem, the results of a series of actual German noise studies are reported In these studies differences between day- and night­time annoyance are found depending on the sound sources For the case of road traffic noise no differences between day and night-time annoyance were found In contrast, annoyance reactions are related to the time of day for railway and air traffic noise Especially for aircraft noise, above a Leq of 50 dB(A) night-time annoyance rises faster than day-time annoyance The effects are discussed in the frame of a cognitive model of noise annoyance It is argued that annoyance judgments are based on an internal representation of the noise situation Part of this representation are the event characteristics of the sound sources and their estimated impacts for disturbances at different times of day

Relative rates of growth of annoyance of impulsive and non-impulsive noises.

Abstract: Twenty-nine people judged the relative annoyance of five variable level signals and 29 impulsive and non-impulsive fixed-level signals in an adaptive paired comparison study. Signals were presented for judgment as heard indoors in a facility capable of accurately reproducing the very low-frequency content of sonic booms. When the annoyance of sonic booms unaccompanied by rattle was compared with that of sounds containing more higher-frequency energy (an aircraft flyover and an octave band of noise centered at 1 kHz), the relative rate of growth of annoyance, as expressed in C-weighted SEL units, was nearly 2:1. In other words, to maintain subjective equality of annoyance, each increase in level of sonic booms had to be matched by nearly twice the increase in level of an aircraft flyover or an octave band of noise centered at 1 kHz. Relative rates of growth of annoyance of sonic booms accompanied by rattle and of non-impulsive sounds, including both low- (63-Hz octave band of noise) and high-frequency energy (1-kHz octave band of noise and an aircraft flyover), were closer to 1:1. Relative rates of growth of annoyance for sonic booms unaccompanied by rattle and low-frequency sounds (63 Hz) were also about 1:1. These differences in relative rates of growth of annoyance of impulsive and non-impulsive sounds are as plausibly attributed to their relative low-frequency content as to impulsiveness per se. It may therefore be more useful for some purposes to express the annoyance of impulsive signals and other environmental noises containing substantial low-frequency energy in terms of effective (duration-corrected) loudness level rather than commonplace ASEL or CSEL.

Aircraft noise exposure from schiphol airport: a relation with complainants.

Abstract: The possible relation between aircraft noise exposure and the prevalence of complainants around Schiphol airport was studied. The home address of people who complain about aircraft noise at the Environment Advisory Committee Schiphol was combined with annual average noise levels, using a Geographic Information System. The prevalence of complainants in areas with different noise exposure was calculated. In addition, data from a questionnaire survey was used to gain insight into the influence of sound insulation, personal characteristics, and aspects of health on complaint behaviour. The prevalence of complainants increases from < 1% at 50 dB(A) (Lden) to about 7% at 62 dB(A). Above this level the prevalence drops back to < 3%. An increase in the percentage of sound insulated houses with increasing noise levels is observed, rising markedly above 60 dB(A) (from 24% to almost 90%). When comparing people who complain with those who do not complain about aircraft noise, complainants report more noise annoyance (OR=10.2, 95% CI=8.54-12.3), sleep disturbance (OR=9.87, 95% CI=8.19-11.9), concern about health (OR=8.02, 95% CI=6.75-9.53), and fear for an aircraft crash (OR=3.64, 95% CI=3.07-4.31). Results indicate a relation between aircraft noise exposure and the prevalence of complainants, possibly influenced by sound insulation. Important determinants of complaint behaviour apart from noise level are noise annoyance, sleep disturbance, concern about health, and fear for an aircraft crash. Although complainants do not seem to be representative for the total population, and do not reflect the full extent of noise annoyance, their prevalence does reflect the regional distribution of aircraft noise annoyance in a noise polluted area.

The social side of noise annoyance

Abstract: Unfairness increases noise annoyance Noise annoyance increases due to unfair sound management. Fair sound management reduces annoyance, however only when the sound pressure level is high, concludes Eveline Maris based on two laboratory experiments. Being exposed to man-made sound is more than mere exposure: it is a social experience, too: You expose Me. This social hypothesis of noise annoyance has been confirmed in two laboratory experiments. Participants were exposed to aircraft noise (sound pressure level (SPL): 50 or 70 dB A) and treated either in a neutral, fair, or unfair manner. The results show that besides SPL, also the fairness of the procedure determines the level of noise annoyance. The first experiment shows an interaction effect of procedural fairness and SPL: annoyance ratings are significantly lower in the fair than in the neutral condition, but the effect is found only when SPL is 70 dB. The second experiment shows a main effect of procedural unfairness on noise annoyance: annoyance ratings are significantly higher in the unfair than in the neutral conditions, regardless of SPL. The findings imply that, in addition to noise reduction engineering, application of knowledge on the social side of noise annoyance can help reduce future noise annoyance levels.

Noise Annoyance Modelling using Fuzzy Rule Based Systems.

Abstract: This paper presents a model that uses a fuzzy rule based engine to predict noise annoyance reported by individuals in a social survey. The rules are proposed by the human expert and are based on linguistic variables. The approach then adapts the sufficiency degree or certainty of a rule to tune the model to a particular survey. Although all possible relations between exposure, attitudinal, emotional, personal, environmental and social variables are not included in the model as yet, the benefits of the new approach are clearly demonstrated. A major limitation that remains is the varying theoretical and empirical basis of the expert for different subset of annoyance determinants. Future applications may include more accurate predictions of noise annoyance for policy support and extraction of knowledge concerning the construct of annoyance from surveys.

Detectability and annoyance of artifacts in watermarked digital videos

Abstract: This paper presents an evaluation of the annoyance and visibility of the artifacts generated by embedding a watermark into a video. To measure the detection threshold and mean annoyance values, a psychophysical experiment is carried out. The results show that the choice of the image to be embedded into the video does not affect the visibility and annoyance of the artifacts significantly. The mean annoyance curve can vary considerably depending on the physical characteristics of the particular video.

Noise Mapping and Annoyance.

Abstract: The EC has published a Green Paper on noise policy in the EU and has issued a directive on the assessment and reduction of environmental noise. This directive will make noise mapping mandatory for cities with at least 250.000 inhabitants. Due to the development in computer technology it is possible to calculate noise maps for large urban areas using the available data on buildings, ground profile, road and rail traffic. Examples for noise mapping are Birmingham (GB), Linz (A) and various German cities. Based on noise maps and empirical data on the correlation between annoyance and noise levels annoyance maps for different sources (rail, road, aircraft) can be calculated. Under the assumption that the annoyance for the different sources are only weakly correlated, a combined annoyance map can be calculated. In a second step using the distribution of the population the actual number of annoyed people can be evaluated. This analysis can be used, for example, to identify noise hot spots and to assess the impact of major traffic projects - roads, airports- on the noise situation as well as the impact on the population. Furthermore, the combined annoyance maps can be used to investigate on health effects and to check whether or not empirical correlations between annoyance and noise levels are sufficiently correct.

Simulating the human visual system: towards objective measurement of visual annoyance

Abstract: This paper presents a functioning diagram of the human visual system and the implementation simulating it. Basically, it constructs image representations and compares them in order to recognise them. A correlation has been found between recognition results and human observer quality scores. Image quality is discussed and visual annoyance is developed.