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Prof Bill Davies' Outputs (36)

Measuring and mapping soundscape speech intelligibility (2009)
Presentation / Conference
Davies, W., Mahnken, P., Gamble, P., & Plack, C. (2009, October). Measuring and mapping soundscape speech intelligibility. Presented at Euronoise 2009, Edinburgh, U.K

More than one factor analysis of soundscape perception has concluded that speech communication is a significant contributor to the overall perceived quality of urban soundscapes. While not everything that is perceptually significant in real soundscap... Read More about Measuring and mapping soundscape speech intelligibility.

Expectation as a factor in the perception of soundscapes (2009)
Presentation / Conference
Bruce, N., Davies, W., & Adams, M. (2009, October). Expectation as a factor in the perception of soundscapes. Presented at Euronoise 2009, Edinburgh, U.K

This paper discusses how expectation and experience form a contributory factor in the perception of soundscapes. The research used fieldwork carried out in London and Manchester, and also a soundscape simulator in a laboratory. Through the use of an... Read More about Expectation as a factor in the perception of soundscapes.

Development of a soundscape simulator tool (2009)
Presentation / Conference
Bruce, N., Davies, W., & Adams, M. (2009, August). Development of a soundscape simulator tool. Presented at Internoise 09, Ottawa, Canada

This paper discusses the development of an interactive soundscape simulator, enabling users to
manipulate a series of parameters to investigate if there is group correlation between factors such
as source selection, positioning and level. The basis... Read More about Development of a soundscape simulator tool.

Soundscapes : an urban planning process map (2009)
Presentation / Conference
Adams, M., Davies, W., & Bruce, N. (2009, August). Soundscapes : an urban planning process map. Presented at Internoise 2009, Ottawa, Canada

The concept of soundscapes is an established theme in acoustics research, most notably in the
areas of environmental noise, noise control and psychoacoustics. However, many disciplines
outside of traditional acoustics have recently worked toget... Read More about Soundscapes : an urban planning process map.

Speech communication in outdoor soundscapes (2009)
Presentation / Conference
Davies, W., Mahnken, P., & Plack, C. (2009, March). Speech communication in outdoor soundscapes. Presented at NAG/DAGA 2009 International Conference on Acoustics, Rotterdam

The Positive Soundscape Project is a large multi-disciplinary
project investigating the perception of soundscapes. Recent
findings indicate that speech communication is a principal
factor in users’ perceptions of urban soundscapes. The
project ha... Read More about Speech communication in outdoor soundscapes.

From concert halls to noise barriers : attenuation from interference gratings (2002)
Presentation / Conference
Davies, W. (2002, March). From concert halls to noise barriers : attenuation from interference gratings. Presented at Acoustics 2002, Salford, Greater Manchester

The seat dip effect is a low-frequency attenuation affecting sound travelling at grazing incidence over seating in auditoria. It is caused by scattered sound from the seats interfering with sound travelling directly from the source on the stage. In o... Read More about From concert halls to noise barriers : attenuation from interference gratings.

Influence of diffuse reflections on the playing of musicians (2001)
Presentation / Conference
Bermond, R., & Davies, W. (2001, September). Influence of diffuse reflections on the playing of musicians. Presented at 17th Int. Congress on Acoustics, Rome

To date, there has been little evidence available on how musicians perceive diffuse reflections in the early sound field in comparison to specular reflections. Two series of subjective tests were conducted among musicians, one in a small room and one... Read More about Influence of diffuse reflections on the playing of musicians.

Difference Limen for level of music (2001)
Presentation / Conference
Davies, W. (2001, September). Difference Limen for level of music. Presented at 17th International Congress on Acoustics, Rome

A psychoacoustic experiment has been conducted to determine the difference limen (DL) of the level of music reproduced in a listening room. The effects of three factors on the DL were measured using up to twelve trained subjects. The factors were m... Read More about Difference Limen for level of music.

Development and preliminary results of the University of Salford media Accessibility and hearing Impairment Database (U-SAID)
Presentation / Conference
Ward, L., Shirley, B., & Davies, W. Development and preliminary results of the University of Salford media Accessibility and hearing Impairment Database (U-SAID). Presented at Reproduced Sound 2018 : putting sound in its place, Bristol, UK

Recent technological advances in object-based broadcasting present the opportunity to improve broadcast accessibility, particularly for the 11 million people in the UK with hearing impairment. Taking advantage of this opportunity is important given t... Read More about Development and preliminary results of the University of Salford media Accessibility and hearing Impairment Database (U-SAID).

Continuous evaluative and pupil dilation response to soundscapes
Presentation / Conference
Graetzer, S., Landowska, A., Harris, L., Cox, T., & Davies, W. Continuous evaluative and pupil dilation response to soundscapes. Presented at e-Forum Acusticum 2020, Online

We investigated human response to soundscapes using a continuous second-by-second rating of soundscapes and a more conventional overall rating of each sample at the end of each audition. In this work, our primary aim was to explore what continuous ra... Read More about Continuous evaluative and pupil dilation response to soundscapes.

Difference limen for reverberation time in auditoria
Presentation / Conference
Tsolias, A., & Davies, W. Difference limen for reverberation time in auditoria. Presented at Forum Acusticum, Krakow, Poland

The smallest change in reverberation time that can be perceived in a concert hall has been measured. Five existing halls with average reverberation times varying between 0.89 and 2.3 s were simulated in detail with Bose room acoustic modelling softwa... Read More about Difference limen for reverberation time in auditoria.

The perception of susurration: envelopment in indoor and outdoor spaces
Presentation / Conference
Davies, W. The perception of susurration: envelopment in indoor and outdoor spaces. Presented at 18th Int. Congress on Acoustics, Kyoto, Japan

This paper investigates a connection between perceptions of indoor and outdoor soundscapes. The word susurration is used in non-scientific writing to describe sounds such as wind in trees and rushing water. It is hypothesised that these sounds give r... Read More about The perception of susurration: envelopment in indoor and outdoor spaces.

Towards room acoustics for an elderly population
Presentation / Conference
Davies, W., Cox, T., Kearon, A., Longhurst, B., & Webb, C. Towards room acoustics for an elderly population. Presented at Acoustics 2000, Liverpool

A qualitative social survey has been conducted on a group of 207 elderly people with a hearing loss. The aim of the study was to determine the extent to which acoustic problems in the built environment affect this subject group. The project was th... Read More about Towards room acoustics for an elderly population.