Reproducibility of soundscape dimensions (2012)
Presentation / Conference
Davies, W., & Murphy, J. (2012, August). Reproducibility of soundscape dimensions. Presented at Internoise 2012, New York

The aim of this work was to investigate the validity of laboratory soundscape reproduction and the robustness of soundscape dimensional analysis. The soundscapes in four urban locations in Manchester (UK) were recorded with a soundfield microphone. T... Read More about Reproducibility of soundscape dimensions.

Perception of soundscapes : an interdisciplinary approach (2012)
Journal Article

This paper takes an overall view of findings from the Positive Soundscape Project, a large inter-disciplinary soundscapes study. Qualitative fieldwork (soundwalks and focus groups) have found that soundscape perception is influenced by cognitive effe... Read More about Perception of soundscapes : an interdisciplinary approach.

A listener-centred approach to soundscape evaluation (2012)
Presentation / Conference
Foale, K., & Davies, W. (2012, April). A listener-centred approach to soundscape evaluation. Presented at Acoustics 2012, Nantes

I am conducting a Grounded Theory study into measuring opinions of urban soundscapes. Participants are given a
small portable recording device and asked to keep a sound diary for two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, they
are given a 60-minute in... Read More about A listener-centred approach to soundscape evaluation.

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.

A positive soundscape evaluation system (2009)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Current policy on environmental sound is largely based on noise control. There is considerable interest in exploiting the soundscape concept to provide a more sophisticated way of managing our acoustic environment. For this to happen, a tool for asse... Read More about A positive soundscape evaluation system.

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.

Research into the practical and policy applications of soundscape concepts and techniques in urban areas (2009)
Report
Payne, S., Davies, W., & Adams, M. (2009). Research into the practical and policy applications of soundscape concepts and techniques in urban areas

Executive Summary
1 The aim of this review was to investigate existing research into soundscape concepts and to produce recommendations for future research into the practical identification, management and enhancement of soundscapes in urban areas.... Read More about Research into the practical and policy applications of soundscape concepts and techniques in urban areas.

The positive soundscape project : a synthesis of results from many disciplines (2009)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

This paper takes an overall view of ongoing findings from the Positive Soundscape Project, a large inter-disciplinary soundscapes study which is nearing completion. Qualitative fieldwork (soundwalks and focus groups) and lab-based listening tests hav... Read More about The positive soundscape project : a synthesis of results from many disciplines.

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.

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.

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.

Physiological responses and subjective estimates of sounds : initial results of pilot study (2008)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

In an attempt to understand the effect of sounds on physiological measurements, along the positive (pleasant) - negative (unpleasant) subjective dimension, 51 subjects (26 male) listened to 13 sounds in clips of 8s interspersed with 16s of silence wh... Read More about Physiological responses and subjective estimates of sounds : initial results of pilot study.

Soundwalking as a methodology for understanding soundscapes (2008)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Soundwalking is a practice that was devised by R. Murray Schafer, when he established the World
Soundscape Project at Simon Fraser University during the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is an
empirical method for identifying a soundscape and compo... Read More about Soundwalking as a methodology for understanding soundscapes.

The positive soundscape project (2007)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

The Positive Soundscape Project is a multi-disciplinary investigation of soundscape perception which started in October 2006. This paper communicates the aims and design of the project and discusses some early results. The project seeks to develop a... Read More about The positive soundscape project.

Thresholds of detection for changes to the Q-factor of low frequency modes in listening environments (2007)
Journal Article
Avis, M., Fazenda, B., & Davies, W. (2007). Thresholds of detection for changes to the Q-factor of low frequency modes in listening environments. Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, 55(7/8), 611-622

Perception of modal distribution metrics in critical listening spaces - dependence on room aspect ratios (2005)
Journal Article
Fazenda, B., Avis, M., & Davies, W. (2005). Perception of modal distribution metrics in critical listening spaces - dependence on room aspect ratios. Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, 53(12), 1128-1141

The subjective significance of two general types of metrics used to describe the "quality" of a room based on its aspect ratio are compared. Tests were carried out to evaluate differences between three virtual rooms that score extreme classifications... Read More about Perception of modal distribution metrics in critical listening spaces - dependence on room aspect ratios.

Noise from pubs and clubs - Final report (2005)
Report
Davies, W., Hepworth, P., Moorhouse, A., & Oldfield, R. (2005). Noise from pubs and clubs - Final report

Perception of reverberation time in small listening rooms (2002)
Journal Article
Niaounakis, T., & Davies, W. (2002). Perception of reverberation time in small listening rooms. Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, 50(5), 343-350

The perceptibility of small changes in reverberation time (RT) when music is reproduced within small studio control rooms was judged by a number of subjects. The aim of the study was to determine the difference limen (DL) for midfrequency RTs shorter... Read More about Perception of reverberation time in small listening rooms.

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.

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.