Perception of Reverberation in Domestic and Automotive Environments

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I've got a feeling: the effect of haptic information on the preferred location of purchase of guitars and stringed wooden instruments.

This thesis develops technology adoption and sensory information literatures through an evaluation of antecedents to consumers purchase location intention of Musical Instruments (MI). With the unique factor of instrument heterogeneity MI e-retail sales are information asymmetric propositions, where the consumer may make a sub-optimal purchase online having foregone the opportunity to experience the haptic information required to ascertain the instruments true quality. Despite a reticent adoption of MI e-retail from the traditional retail industry online MI sales are increasing, resulting in off-line marketplace contraction, thus investigation of consumers online MI purchase motivations is of value to the industry. The exploration of this topic uses a pragmatic, two-stage mixed-methods process incorporating inductive in-depth interviews with MI retail industry personnel, followed by deductive MI consumer based quantitative questionnaires.The reluctance to adopt e-retail is based on expertise-led aversion and expertise gap where key MI retail influencers attempt to enforce their own views on the correct way to purchase an instrument, rather than responding to consumer trends. This aversion was influenced by their own reliance on haptic information, coupled with knowledge of instrument heterogeneity and their level of musicianship. Consumer research conclusions identify that high haptic-need consumers, who tend to have greater ability and involvement, are more likely to purchase in-store whilst those with lower haptic needs are more willing to purchase MI online. Through the design and empirical testing of the Musical Instrument Need-for-Touch (MINFT) model numerous factors were identified as moderators to this basic supposition. The subsequent development of a MI consumer typology identified five distinct groups that respond to differing stimuli in relation to MI purchase location intention. These findings add to the academic discourse and enable MI retailers to enhance their offerings both in-store and online, leading to more effective targeting of their key customers

Optimum height for surround recordings with height channels

This research investigates the perceptional qualities of various microphone distances between the low channel microphones and height channel microphones in order to decide optimum height for height microphones in three-dimensional acoustic recordings. First, the thesis introduces information about the added value of the height channels in audio recording, and then it presents the development of recording techniques and technology, and the current knowledge and limitations of the related recording methods. Next, the thesis discusses the methodology and the process of the research, followed by data analysis, discussion and conclusions about a listening test involving multiple distances between lower and height channels. Finally, the limitations of the research are addressed and suggestions for future research are offered. The results of the listening test show significant results on depth perception and envelopment. However, the rest of the results show no major significant difference between the perceptions of different height channel setups

The quality of experience of next generation audio :exploring system, context and human influence factors

PhD ThesisThe next generation of audio reproduction technology has the potential to deliver immersive and personalised experiences to the user; multichannel with-height loudspeaker arrays and binaural techniques offer 3D audio experiences, whereas objectbased techniques offer possibilities of adapting content to suit the system, context and user. A fundamental process in the advancement of such technology is perceptual evaluation. It is crucial to understand how listeners perceive new technology in order to drive future developments. This thesis explores the experience provided by next generation audio technology by taking a quality of experience (QoE) approach to evaluation. System, context and human factors all influence QoE and in this thesis three case studies are presented to explore the role of these categories of influence factors (IFs) in the context of next generation audio evaluation. Furthermore, these case studies explore suitable methods and approaches for the evaluation of the QoE of next generation audio with respect to its various IFs. Specific contributions delivered from these individual studies include a subjective comparison between soundbar and discrete surround sound technology, the application of the Open Profiling of Quality method to the field of audio evaluation, an understanding of both how and why environmental noise influences preferred audio object balance, an understanding of how the influence of technical audio quality on overall listening experience is related to a range of psychographic variables and an assessment of the impact of binaural processing on overall listening experience. When considering these studies as a whole, the research presented here contributes the thesis that to effectively evaluate the perceived quality of next generation audio, a QoE mindset should be taken that considers system, context and human IFs.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the British Broadcasting Corporation Research & Development department (BBC R&D

Sounds of consumption : the influence of nonmusical sounds on services and retail settings

Previous literature shows that sensory stimulation, such as pictures and scents, can affect consumers’ choices in a retail setting. Visual stimulation (i.e., pictures of fruit), for example, make people choose more healthy foods, especially when they are hungry (Forwood, Ahern, Hollands, Ng, & Marteau, 2015). Following the same logic, sound might also trigger consumers’ choices and perceptions, meaning that specific products are expected to be chosen more frequently when congruent sounds are played. However, the extant literature has paid little attention to this role of sound. This work therefore focuses on auxiliary sounds (nonmusical) in the shopping environment, especially those intentionally set using audio systems to improve and compose the experiential shopping environment. More specifically, this research investigates whether auxiliary sounds influence people’s choice, decisions, and perceptions through the semantic properties (meanings) of sounds. Five studies were conducted to investigate these effects of auxiliary sounds; the first is a field experiment and the other four are lab studies. The field study showed exploratory results on the effect of auxiliary sounds on people’s choice behavior The first lab study (Study 1) considered a service context choice, where sounds were set in the “soundscape” of a fictitious travel agency. When city sounds were played as the background sound in the environment, the city destination was chosen more than the beach destination. Study 2 showed that congruence between sounds and options increase the choice of those options, even when more options are available. Study 3 found that when sound is strongly associated with product appeal or positioning, and this association is perceived by the consumer, it increases people’s intention to buy the product. The last study showed that, for an experiential positioning, congruent sounds can improve people’s intentions to visit the store by improving people’s attitudes toward the store. These results shed light on the study of auxiliary sounds in retail and services environments, bringing to surface some effects that serve as an initial parameter on the study of this phenomenon. It also has managerial contributions as sounds can be strategically used by marketers in order to promote a richer consumption experience.Estímulos sensoriais como imagens e aromas, podem afetar a escolha dos consumidores no varejo. Pistas visuais (ex.: imagens de frutas), por exemplo, fazem com que as pessoas escolham mais comidas saudáveis, especialmente quando estão com fome (Forwood et al., 2015). Seguindo esta lógica, o som também pode ativar escolhas e percepções dos consumidores. No entanto, a literatura existente tem dado pouca atenção ao papel do som. O presente trabalho trata dos sons auxiliares (não musicais) no ambiente de compra, especificamente aqueles colocados intencionalmente no ambiente de compra. Mais especificamente, o trabalho busca investigar se os sons auxiliares influenciam as escolhas, decisões e percepções das pessoas por meio das propriedades semânticas (significados) dos sons. Cinco estudos foram realizados no sentido de investigar estes efeitos dos sons auxiliares, onde o primeiro estudo foi um experimento de campo, enquanto que os demais foram estudos de laboratório. O estudo de campo, com caráter mais exploratório, demonstrou que os sons auxiliares podem ter um efeito sobre o comportamento de escolha dos clientes. O primeiro estudo de laboratório (Study 1) considerou o processo de escolha no contexto de serviços de agência de viagem, onde os sons influenciaram a escolha dos consumidores (ex.: sons de cidade fizeram com que os destinos turísticos de cidade fossem mais escolhidos, comparado com os destinos de praia). O estudo 2 (Study 2) verificou a influência dos sons auxiliares em um ambiente com mais opções disponíveis para escolha O estudo evidenciou que a congruência entre os sons e as opções disponíveis podem influenciar a escolha dos consumidores, mesmo com uma maior gama de opções. No estudo 3 (Study 3) a associação feita pelo consumidor entre som e o apelo/posicionamento do produto aumenta a intenção de compra dos consumidores em relação ao produto. O último estudo (Study 4) demonstrou que o uso dos sons auxiliares congruentes com o posicionamento de uma loja, fazem com que o consumidor tenha atitudes mais positivas em relação à loja, e consequentemente aumenta a intenção de visitar a loja. No entanto, este resultado foi significativo apenas para lojas com posicionamento experiencial. Estes resultados são um primeiro passo no estudo dos sons auxiliares nos ambientes de varejo e serviço, trazendo à tona alguns efeitos que servem como um parâmetro inicial no do estudo deste fenômeno. Isto reflete também em aplicações estratégicas dos sons musicais no ambiente de compra de modo a enriquecer a experiência de compra do cliente

Co-criação com adultos 55+ para o desenvolvimento de conteúdo audiovisual educativo TIC

A product's acceptance depends on the experience that it provides to its users. The product must meet the contextualized specific needs of the users, and one way to understand and consider those needs is through a human-centred design process. Human-centric design collects users' opinions as a design priority, the element in the "centre" of the iterative design process. To keep our focus on the user, the human-centred design process of this work has four steps: understand, specify, design, and evaluate. This dissertation explores how end-users' involvement in the product development life cycle can contribute to the design process. This document comprises two parts: research and development. The research establishes a State of the Art, and the development reports an empirical study with a co-creation methodology based on design thinking for developing ICT audiovisual learning content adapted to the adults 55+. This study is incorporated in the ICTskills4All project that aims to support the acquisition of digital skills among 55+ aged citizens. Participants were recruited with the help of APRe! an ICTskills4All associated partner. The participants had a reliable internet connection at home which enabled them to participate freely and safely, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The respondents were between the age range of 55 - 81 years old (median=72). This sample integrates 25 participants, 16 (64%) female and 9 (36%) male, 88% (22/25) are already retired. The inclusion criteria for participants were as follows: 55 years or older, minimum technology skills to participate online, and open to sharing their personal opinions and interactions related to technology. This study aims to contribute with audiovisual artefacts for the online platform ICTskills4All, co-designed and validated with end-users, improve digital literacy skills, and to the human-centred design field with a qualitative study based on design thinking approach. The results indicate that involving end-users in the design process can lead to different visual results but similar rating values. Combining the expert quality of a professional designer with the participants' expertise can enrich the experience of both parts, even with a small sample.A aprovação de um produto depende da experiência que este proporciona aos seus utilizadores - o produto deve satisfazer as necessidades específicas no contexto do utilizador. Uma forma de compreender e considerar essas necessidades é através de um processo de human-centred design. O human-centred design considera as opiniões dos utilizadores como uma prioridade do design, o elemento no "centro" do processo de design iterativo. Para manter o foco no utilizador, o processo de human-centred design deste trabalho desdobra-se em quatro etapas: compreender, especificar, desenhar e avaliar. Explorar de que forma o envolvimento dos end-users no ciclo de vida do desenvolvimento do produto pode contribuir para o processo de design é objeto de estudo desta dissertação, cuja estrutura se divide em duas partes: investigação e desenvolvimento. A investigação estabelece um estado da arte; odesenvolvimento consiste num estudo empírico, com uma metodologia de co-criação baseada em design thinking, para o desenvolvimento de conteúdosde aprendizagem audiovisual TIC adaptados aos adultos 55+. Este estudo está incorporado no ICTskills4All, um projeto de apoio ao desenvolvimento de competências digitais entre cidadãos com mais de 55 anos de idade. Os participantes foram recrutados com a ajuda da APRe!, um parceiro associado. Os participantes dispunham de uma ligação segura à Internet, em casa, que lhes permitiu participar livremente e em segurança, especialmente durante a pandemia COVID-19. Esta amostra integra 25 participantes, 16 (64%) do sexo feminino e 9 (36%) do sexo masculino, com idades compreendidas entre os 55 e os 81 anos de idade (mediana=72), 88% (22/25) dos quais já reformados. Os critérios de inclusão dos participantes foram os seguintes: 55 anos ou mais, competências tecnológicas mínimas para participar online, e com disponibilidade para a partilha das suas opiniões e interações relacionadas com a tecnologia. A partir da co-criação e validação de conteúdos audiovisuais para a plataforma ICTskills4All, parceria com os end-users, este trabalho pretende melhorar as competências de literacia digital e contribuir para o human-centred design, com um estudo qualitativo baseado na abordagem do design thinking. Os resultados indicam que o envolvimento dos utilizadores finais no processo de design pode conduzir a produtos visualmente diferentes mas com avaliações semelhantes. A combinação da formação especializada de um designer profissional com a experiência pessoal dos participantes pode enriquecer a experiência de ambas as partes, mesmo com uma pequena amostra.Mestrado em Comunicação Multimédi

Towards a better understanding of mix engineering

PhDThis thesis explores how the study of realistic mixes can expand current knowledge about multitrack music mixing. An essential component of music production, mixing remains an esoteric matter with few established best practices. Research on the topic is challenged by a lack of suitable datasets, and consists primarily of controlled studies focusing on a single type of signal processing. However, considering one of these processes in isolation neglects the multidimensional nature of mixing. For this reason, this work presents an analysis and evaluation of real-life mixes, demonstrating that it is a viable and even necessary approach to learn more about how mixes are created and perceived. Addressing the need for appropriate data, a database of 600 multitrack audio recordings is introduced, and mixes are produced by skilled engineers for a selection of songs. This corpus is subjectively evaluated by 33 expert listeners, using a new framework tailored to the requirements of comparison of musical signal processing. By studying the relationship between these assessments and objective audio features, previous results are confirmed or revised, new rules are unearthed, and descriptive terms can be defined. In particular, it is shown that examples of inadequate processing, combined with subjective evaluation, are essential in revealing the impact of mix processes on perception. As a case study, the percept `reverberation amount' is ex-pressed as a function of two objective measures, and a range of acceptable values can be delineated. To establish the generality of these findings, the experiments are repeated with an expanded set of 180 mixes, assessed by 150 subjects with varying levels of experience from seven different locations in five countries. This largely confirms initial findings, showing few distinguishable trends between groups. Increasing experience of the listener results in a larger proportion of critical and specific statements, and agreement with other experts.Yamaha Corporation, the Audio Engineering Society, Harman International Industries, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Association of British Turkish Academics, and Queen Mary University of London's School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Scienc

Aesthetic Sensitivity

[eng] Aesthetic sensitivity is a central idea in the field of empirical aesthetics. The present research contributes a historical-critical review of its origin and development through the history of the discipline, a new theoretical approach aligned with current knowledge, novel methodological tools to investigate this and other relevant psychological constructs, and empirical evidence based on this conception that advances scientific understanding of sensory valuation.[spa] La sensibilidad estética es una idea central en el campo de la estética empírica. La presente investigación aporta una revisión histórico-crítica de su origen y desarrollo a través de la historia de la disciplina, un nuevo enfoque teórico de acuerdo con los conocimientos actuales, novedosas herramientas metodológicas para investigar éste y otros constructos psicológicos relevantes, y evidencia empírica basada en esta concepción que avanza la comprensión científica de la valoración sensorial.[cat] La sensibilitat estètica és una idea central en el camp de l'estètica empírica. La present investigació aporta una revisió històric-crítica del seu origen i desenvolupament a través de la història de la disciplina, un nou enfocament teòric alineat amb els coneixements actuals, noves eines metodològiques per investigar aquest i altres constructes psicològics rellevants, i evidència empírica basada en aquesta concepció que avança la comprensió científica de la valoració sensorial