Despite ample medical evidence of the adverse impacts of traffic noise on health, most policies for traffic noise management are arbitrary or incomplete, resulting in serious social and economic impacts. Surprisingly, there is limited information about citizen's exposure to traffic noise worldwide. This paper presents the 2Loud? mobile phone application, developed and tested as a methodology to monitor, assess and map the level of exposure to traffic noise of citizens with focus on the night period and indoor locations, since sleep disturbance is one of the major triggers for ill health related to traffic noise. Based on a community participation experiment using the 2Loud? mobile phone application in a region close to freeways in Australia, the results of this research indicates a good level of accuracy for the noise monitoring by mobile phones and also demonstrates significant levels of indoor night exposure to traffic noise in the study area. The proposed methodology, through the data produced and the participatory process involved, can potentially assist in planning and management towards healthier urban environments.
Purpose-This paper aims to present a project in Australia, where participants use smartphones to measure the level of traffic noise in their homes. Through the data collected, participants learn if they are subjected to sleep disturbances and, if so, understand how they can manage the issue to protect their health. The project also has a secondary purpose: the local council would like to engage its community through the exercise and be seen as acting on the community's problems. Design/methodology/approach-The approach taken was the development of a mobile app call 2Loud? that turns the smartphones of participants into noise sensors with accuracies comparable to professional sound-meters. The data collected are analyzed by environment and acoustic experts, and personalized feedback, in the form of mitigation strategies, is then provided. The strategies are delivered through the app to allow participants to share within the community and hence, propagate the solution to nonparticipants. Findings-Participants who are technologically literate find a sense of empowerment as a result. They confirmed the importance of "closing the loop" with the feedback they received after their voluntary data collection effort. They also reported some sense of satisfaction with the technology as an interim solution and noted the council's creative approach. Originality/value-This project first showcases how a participatory setup could be extended to create a "closed-loop" feedback system that further empowers its users. It is also a case example of how an organization could engage and manage its stakeholders' expectations through innovative use of participatory sensing systems.
This paper investigates the sound absorption characteristics of a precast panel system made from an environmentally sustainable concrete which can be used as an acoustical material. A current research project undertaken at the School of Architecture and Building, Deakin University, aims at utilising alternative materials and innovative approach to concrete precasting in the production of architecturally pleasing concrete panels. The normal incidence sound absorption coefficients of the assemblies were measured using an impedance tube. In general, the peak frequencies reduced with increasing thickness of concrete. The preliminary results indicate that the sound absorption of a three-layer variation of the panel meet design specifications related to acoustic performance. The major benefits of this investigated approach to concrete and concrete precasting are the ease of tunability to specific peak frequency, improved aesthetics and utilisation of industrial waste.
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