Transnational film production and the tourist gaze : on Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Café Lumière and Flight of the red balloon

This article attempts to reexamine the multiple forms of displacement in and of the film to which the new historical era gave rise, and thereby critically engage with the questions of transnational capital flow, global tourism and spectatorship, and textual migration in the case of intertextuality

Effectiveness of the Simulation of Acoustic Protection for a Specific Urban Situation

The present article is addressing the problem of street noise investigation in urban agglomeration and the simulation of protection devices against noise. Noise levels were measured in the vicinity of the national road in Bieruń, Silesia in Poland. The publication attempts to assess the acoustic climate between a roundabout and an intersection. Based on the measured noise, the acoustic mapping was made in the SoundPlan program. The range of noise impact from the examined road section was determined. Finally, two concepts of preventive measures limiting the excessive impacts on the environment were presented, along with the indication of the impact on building development, business operations as well as transport links and traffic

Healing Spaces

The field of design and health, formerly known as the domain of healthcare design professionals, has now reached a turning point with the proliferation of a plethora of non-invasive wearable technologies, to provide the objective and near-real-time measurement of the impact of many features of the built environment on aspects of health, wellbeing and performance. In turn, new materials and the Internet of Things are allowing the development of smart buildings, which can interact with occupants to optimize their health, wellbeing, performance and overall experience. Companies that have previously focused on positioning themselves as “green” are now turning to positioning themselves in the marketplace as both green and healthy. This Special Issue will include articles that address new cutting edge technologies and materials at the interface between design and health, and review some of the latest findings related to studies which use these technologies. This SI will also suggest exciting future directions for the field. It will include articles which focus on the objective data gathered to document the effects of the built environment on health. Importantly, it will focus on the use of innovative methods of measurement, such as state-of-the-art wearable and environmental sensors, quantifying some aspects of health, such as stress and relaxation responses, activity, posture, sleep quality, cognitive performance and wellbeing outcomes. It will also examine the impacts of different elements of the built environment on these health and wellbeing outcomes. The published articles will focus on the design interventions informed by these measurements, along with innovative integrated building materials that can shape the design of built environments for better health, productivity, and performance. It will also address the return on investment (ROI) of such design interventions. This Special Issue will provide both the foundational knowledge and fundamentals for characterizing human health and wellbeing in the built environment, as well as the emerging trends and design methods for innovations in this field

Road Traffic Noise Levels at Different Types of Residential Areas in Nibong Tebal, Penang

Traffic vehicles on the road networks during their movement create noise that has greater impact on environment. The sources, the receivers and the place of transition, where the sound wave propagates, are the three vital parameters for the field of noise acoustics. For this research, the aim of this study is to assess traffic noise levels between different types of residential areas in Nibong Tebal, Penang. The study is carried out in order to achieve the following three main objectives, which are to assess the level of traffic noise at selected residential areas, to characterize the traffic flow composition nearby study areas, and to compare noise levels between low density and terraced house residential areas. The noise levels measurements were carried out periodically in the morning (from 0700 to 1100), evening (from 1600 to 1900), and at night (from 2200 to 2300) for 15 minutes using a sound level meter. The traffic characteristics were measured simultaneously during noise levels measurements. The highest equivalent continuous noise levelsfor the low density residential areas was at Kampung Batu 2 in the evening with 65.9 dB(A), while for the medium density residential areas, Taman Sri Acheh contributed 68.60 dB(A) during the morning. The lowest equivalent continuous noise levelswere obtained at Kampung Simpang Tiga in the morning that contributed 54.9 dB(A) for low density residential areas. However, the minimum equivalent continuous noise levelsobtained for the medium density residential areas was at Taman Ilmu Indah in the morning with 63.10 dB(A). The results obtained, clearly show that the equivalent continuous noise level for all study sites exceeded the maximum permissible sound level for medium density areas during daytime (from 7.00 am to 10.00 pm), which is 55 dB(A), while at night time (from 10.00 pm to 7.00 am)  is 45 dB(A), and for low density residential areas during daytime (from 7.00 am to 10.00 pm) is 55 dB(A), while at night time (from 10.00 pm to 7.00 am)  is 45 dB(A), respectively. These values are based on the guidelines for environmental noise limits and control by the Department of Environment, Malaysia

Comparison of Road Traffic Noise near High, Medium and Low Density Residential Areas in Nibong Tebal and Juru, Penang

Nowadays, environmental noise pollution is ranked second among other environmental pollutions in terms of public health impacts due to rapid urbanization and growing traffic especially road traffic. The aim of this study is to assess traffic noise levels between different types of residential areas in Nibong Tebal and Juru, Penang. This study compares road traffic noise levels in high density (Juru) and medium density (Nibong Tebal) residential areas in Penang. The noise levels measurements were carried out periodically in the morning (from 0700 to 1100), evening (from 1600 to 1900), and at night (from 2200 to 2300) for 15 minutes using sound level meter. The traffic characteristics were measured simultaneously during noise levels measurements. One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to determine any significant differences between two or more noise levels measured at sites of the study. Independent samples t-test was used to compare independent groups (noise levels at two different study sites and areas). In the present study, p values of less than 5% (p<0.005) were considered as statistically significant The results show that all of the noise levels measured in Juru and Nibong Tebal residential areas exceed the noise permissible limits stated in The Planning Guidelines For Environmental Noise Limits and Noise Control by low density residential areas with the permissible limits of 50dB(A) day time and 40dB(A) night time, suburban residential (medium density with the permissible limits of 55dB(A) day time and 45dB(A) night time) and urban residential  (high density with the permissible limits of   60dB(A) day time and 55dB(A) night time). The equivalent continuous noise levels measured in Nibong Tebal residential areas are between 57.6 – 69dB(A) while in Juru residential areas, the noise levels measured are 66.65 to 70.7dB(A). All noise levels exceed the maximum permissible sound levels in both areas

Music Culture and the Self-Presentation of Indigenous Musicians on Social Media in Contemporary Taiwan

The purpose of this research was to provide an indigenous perspective of popular culture in Taiwan as a means to re-examine Taiwanese contemporary identity. In-depth qualitative interviews and digital ethnography were adopted to collect data about indigenous musicians' self-presentation on social media. Being an indigenous musician in postmodern Taiwan is a highly contested phenomenon, as social media offers a double-edged sword requiring a conjunctional analysis that delves into both the past and the contemporary. This research unpacks the performance of contemporary indigenous musicians in the post-digital media age and offers five findings. Firstly, the indigenous musicians interviewed for the purpose of this research use social media to perform their indigenous identities to wider audiences, both indigenous and nonindigenous. Secondly, identity performances of indigenous musicians on social media are inspired by and reflect the richness and diversity of Taiwanese society. Thirdly, indigenous musicians act as spatio-temporal bridges commuting between urban and rural spaces, on- and offline and between tradition and contemporaneity. Fourthly, indigenous musicians in Taiwan do not only create and perform music, but also give a huge importance to defining and re-articulating what they think indigenous music is and what role it should play in contemporary Taiwanese society. Finally, online selfpresentation provides indigenous musicians with an opportunity to present their performed identities beyond the local to a global audience, allowing non-indigenous audiences to participate in their culture. Using empirical evidence from the interviews and the digital ethnography, this thesis demonstrates how identity performances by Taiwanese indigenous musicians oscillate between three different and inter-related identity processes: ‘doing’ indigenous, ‘being indigenous’, and ‘becoming’ indigenous

INVESTIGATION OF NOISE EXPOSURES, PERCEPTION, AND HEALTH EFFECTS IN DIFFERENT MICROENVIRONMENTS IN A UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY

This study aims to assess noise levels in selected outdoor and indoor microenvironments in a University community in Oman. The perception of noise levels within the Sultan Qaboos University campus was investigated through a survey study. Also, the effect of exposed noise levels on annoyance and sleep disturbance were predicted including their potential risk on cardiovascular health. Among all the measured parameters, it was found that outdoor (41.6%-50%) and indoor (38.5%-46.2%) microenvironments have exceeded the critical levels of 55 dB during morning and afternoon periods. The respondents (698 people) identified traffic and indoor building-related activities as the main sources of noise levels but the majority (44%) of them rated their impact as low. However, more than 30% of the respondents considered traffic as the main contributor to University noise levels. The percentage of highly annoyed persons was predicted to be high in outdoor areas especially in the residential (25%) and near the hospital (13%) areas. However, indoor environments including construction materials and structures labs (14%) showed similar annoyance rates. Also, the percentage of high sleep disturbed persons was found higher in residential areas (7.4%) areas compared to hospital areas (5.3%) locations. The study concluded that there might be an association between the exposed noise levels and the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. This is the first study that has provided a high spatial variability noise exposure levels across a University environment in Oman, this will contribute to designing future sustainable mitigation strategies to improve the health and well-being of the exposed population. The study has provided a baseline knowledge needed for future epidemiological studies