Annoyance

About: Annoyance is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2015 publications have been published within this topic receiving 38300 citations. The topic is also known as: annoy.

The interactive effect of occupational noise on attention and short-term memory: A pilot study.

Abstract: Introduction: Human performance is influenced by several job-related factors and workplace conditions, including occupational noise. This influence can occur at sound pressure levels lower than the ones that cause physiological damage, such as hearing loss, being mediated by the noise characteristics. However, studies concerning this issue are still scarce. Study. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of three noise conditions on attention and short-term memory: standard condition (C1), environmental noise without alarm sounds (C2), and environmental noise with alarm sounds (C3). Materials and Methods: First, noise levels were measured during a normal workweek in a fast food establishment. Second, an experiment was designed to simulate the noise normally prevailing in the workplace. The noise levels were fixed at 45 ± 0.3 dB(A) (C1), 60 ± 0.4 dB(A) (C2), and 68 ± 0.4 dB(A) (C3). The influence of noise on participants’ attention and short-term memory was assessed with the following test battery: serial recall, response inhibition, and Stroop interference. Because annoyance, stress, and discomfort perceptions during the tests can influence results, visual analog scales to assess these variables were applied in the end of each trial. Fifteen undergraduate students were included in this pilot study (20–23 years; M = 21.6; SD = 0.8; all female). Results: The results demonstrated that participants’ performance during the tests was lower in C3, that is, the number of errors was higher and the reaction time longer. Participants also experienced higher levels of discomfort, stress, and annoyance perceptions in this condition. However, task performance was not found to be influenced by these perceptions. Conclusion: This study provided important insights about the different noise conditions that workers are exposed in a fast food restaurant, and how they influence participants’ performance. Further research should involve workers, exploring how these conditions are implicated in their performance in the field.

Evaluating noise annoyance cost recovery at Dusseldorf International Airport

Abstract: This study estimates airport noise annoyance cost around Dusseldorf, Germany by examining rental apartment market data. Using data on regional apartment offers we estimate rent discounts of 1.04% per additional decibel of airport noise. Other sources of traffic noise induce significantly lower price effects. As a result, airport noise annoyance costs amount to about €7.5 million a year. While the noise protection fund recovers annoyance costs, the charging regime of the airport fails to fully internalize them.

Travel control device for vehicle

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a travel control device for a vehicle prevented from imparting to a driver annoyed feeling by eliminating unnecessary informing sound, and generating more accurate informing sound. SOLUTION: This travel control device for the vehicle detects a vehicle-to- vehicle distance to a preceding vehicle and performs accelerating-decelerating control so that the vehicle-to-vehicle distance becomes a specified value. An approach state to the preceding vehicle and its change rate are detected, and in the case of failing to detect the vehicle-to-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle, the subsequent change of the approach state to the preceding vehicle is predicted, and an informing sound is generated if the state of failing to detect the vehicle-to-vehicle distance continues until the time when an approach state predicting time is a specified value or more. The informing sound can be generated at appropriate timing of hardly making the driver feel annoyed, so that the driver's annoyance can be further reduced.