EVALUATION OF HOSPITAL SOUNDSCAPES TO IMPROVE PATIENT AND STAFF EXPERIENCE

Hospital soundscapes can be difficult environments to assess acoustically due to the continuous activity within units. Routinely, patients perceive these soundscapes poorly when rating their hospital experience on HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) surveys administered after discharge. In addition, hospital staff can be negatively impacted by the acoustical environments in which they work, affecting both performance and job satisfaction. This doctoral research addressed these issues across three phases by collecting acoustical measurements within three individual hospitals, comparing results with provided patient and staff survey information, and conducting laboratory tests of hospital noise perception. In the first two phases of this research, 38 patient rooms from 11 units within three hospitals were measured acoustically and correlated with HCAHPS ‘Quietness of the Hospital Environment’ surveys at room and unit-levels, revealing acoustical metrics linked to patient perceptions of hospital soundscape conditions. Metrics found to be most statistically correlated (p \u3c 0.05), included the absolute LAMIN levels in patient rooms, which found significantly higher HCAHPS ‘Quietness of the Hospital Environment’ scores in units with average LAMIN levels below 35 dBA. Many other standard acoustical metrics (such as LAEQ, LAMAX, LCPEAK, and LA90) were not found to be statistically correlated between measured acoustical data and HCAHPS ‘Quietness’ patient responses, emphasizing the difficulties faced when evaluating hospital soundscapes. The third phase of this research involved the creation and administration of a subjective perceptual laboratory test designed to assess the annoyance perception of hospital soundscapes with varying dynamic ranges of noise. It was found that subjects perceived soundscapes with a wider dynamic range of noise and louder peak noise events more negatively than soundscapes with a more consistent sound level. Taken as a whole, this study provides new insights into the potential relationships between hospital noise and patient and staff satisfaction. The three research phases aimed to address this issue from different perspectives to provide a broad assessment of this very complicated issue. The data gathered and presented could be utilized to more accurately assess hospital soundscapes and ultimately aid in the design process of new hospitals to improve patient and staff satisfaction. Advisor: Erica E. Ryher

Investigation of Subjective Perception & Objective Metrics of Acoustic Room Diffusion

While a variety of assessment methodologies have been proposed to quantify acoustic diffusivity within rooms, a link between these and the perception of diffusion has not been fully established. This study investigated various ways of analyzing diffusion, through both human perception and objective metrics. Numerous impulse response measurements were collected from a physical acoustics testing facility designed for diffusion research. This space featured reversible absorptive/diffusive/reflective wall panels, which allowed numerous testing configurations. One such setup investigated how changing the diffusivity of an isolated wall surface impacted diffusive room conditions. Alternatively, the effects diffuser configurations had on diffusive room conditions were also explored. The collected room impulse response measurements were utilized in subjective trials and an objective metric analysis. In the subjective testing, room auralizations were presented to subjects in audio comparison trials to determine how well diffusive room conditions could be discerned. It was found that a significant quantity of diffusive surface area was required for the average subject to discriminate between the presented diffusive and absorptive wall conditions. Subjects were even less capable of discerning between the diffusive and reflective wall conditions presented. In addition, Male Speech was found to be more distinguishable than Violin Music, and musicians identified diffusive room conditions more effectively than non-musicians. The objective metric analysis identified the Number of Peaks as the most effective diffusive quantification methodology. Also, two metrics designed to measure reflection strengths within impulse responses were identified: Slope Ratio and the Degree of Time Series Fluctuations. Advisor: Lily M. Wan

Investigation of Subjective Perception & Objective Metrics of Acoustic Room Diffusion

While a variety of assessment methodologies have been proposed to quantify acoustic diffusivity within rooms, a link between these and the perception of diffusion has not been fully established. This study investigated various ways of analyzing diffusion, through both human perception and objective metrics. Numerous impulse response measurements were collected from a physical acoustics testing facility designed for diffusion research. This space featured reversible absorptive/diffusive/reflective wall panels, which allowed numerous testing configurations. One such setup investigated how changing the diffusivity of an isolated wall surface impacted diffusive room conditions. Alternatively, the effects diffuser configurations had on diffusive room conditions were also explored. The collected room impulse response measurements were utilized in subjective trials and an objective metric analysis. In the subjective testing, room auralizations were presented to subjects in audio comparison trials to determine how well diffusive room conditions could be discerned. It was found that a significant quantity of diffusive surface area was required for the average subject to discriminate between the presented diffusive and absorptive wall conditions. Subjects were even less capable of discerning between the diffusive and reflective wall conditions presented. In addition, Male Speech was found to be more distinguishable than Violin Music, and musicians identified diffusive room conditions more effectively than non-musicians. The objective metric analysis identified the Number of Peaks as the most effective diffusive quantification methodology. Also, two metrics designed to measure reflection strengths within impulse responses were identified: Slope Ratio and the Degree of Time Series Fluctuations. Advisor: Lily M. Wan

Synchroneity of major late Neogene sea level fluctuations and paleoceanographically controlled changes as recorded by two carbonate platforms

Shallow-water carbonate systems are reliable recorders of sea level fluctuations and changes in ambient seawater conditions. Drilling results from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Legs 133 and 166 indicate that the timing of late Neogene sedimentary breaks triggered by sea level lowerings is synchronous in the sedimentary successions of the Queensland Plateau and the Great Bahama Bank. This synchrony indicates that these sea level changes were eustatic in origin. The carbonate platforms were also affected by contemporary, paleoceanographically controlled fluctuations in carbonate production. Paleoceanographic changes are recorded at 10.7, 3.6, and 1.7–2.0 Ma. At the Queensland Plateau, sea surface temperature shifts are documented by shifts from tropical to temperate carbonates (10.7 Ma) and vice versa (3.6 Ma); the modern tropical platform was established at 2.0–1.8 Ma. At Great Bahama Bank, changes were registered in compositional variations of platform-derived sediment, such as major occurrence of peloids (3.6 Ma) and higher rates of neritic carbonate input (1.7 Ma). The synchroneity of these changes attests to the far-field effects of modifications in the oceanographic circulation on shallow-water, low-latitude carbonate production

Permeability Prediction in Tight Carbonate Rocks using Capillary Pressure Measurements

The prediction of permeability in tight carbonate reservoirs presents ever more of a challenge in the hydrocarbon industry today. It is the aim of this paper to ascertain which models have the capacity to predict permeability reliably in tight carbonates, and to develop a new one, if required. This paper presents (i) the results of laboratory Klinkenberg-corrected pulse decay measurements of carbonates with permeabilities in the range 65 nD to 0.7 mD, (ii) use of the data to assess the performance of 16 permeability prediction models, (iii) the development of an improved prediction model for tight carbonate rocks, and (iv) its validation using an independent data set. Initial measurements including porosity, permeability and mercury injection capillary pressure measurements (MICP) were carried out on a suite of samples of Kometan limestone from the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The prediction performance of sixteen different percolation-type and Poiseuille-type permeability prediction models were analysed with the measured data. Analysis of the eight best models is included in this paper and the analysis of the remainder is provided in supplementary material. Some of the models were developed especially for tight gas sands, while many were not. Critically, none were developed for tight gas carbonates. Predictably then, the best prediction was obtained from the generic model and the RGPZ models (R2 = 0.923, 0.920 and 0.915, respectively), with other models performing extremely badly. In an attempt to provide a better model for use with tight carbonates, we have developed a new model based on the RGPZ theoretical model by adding an empirical scaling parameter to account for the relationship between grain size and pore throat size in carbonates. The generic model, the 28 new RGPZ Carbonate model and the two original RGPZ models have been tested against independent data from a suite of 42 samples of tight Solnhofen carbonates. All four models performed very creditably with the generic and the new RGPZ Carbonate models performing well (R2 = 0.840 and 0.799, respectively). It is clear from this study that the blind application of conventional permeability prediction techniques to carbonates, and particularly to tight carbonates, will lead to gross errors and that the development of new methods that are specific to tight carbonates is unavoidable

Evaluation of Hospital Soundscapes to Improve Patient and Staff Experience

Hospital soundscapes can be difficult environments to assess acoustically due to the continuous activity within units. Routinely, patients perceive these soundscapes poorly when rating their hospital experience on HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) surveys administered after discharge. In addition, hospital staff can be negatively impacted by the acoustical environments in which they work, affecting both performance and job satisfaction. This doctoral research addressed these issues across three phases by collecting acoustical measurements within three individual hospitals, comparing results with provided patient and staff survey information, and conducting laboratory tests of hospital noise perception. In the first two phases of this research, 38 patient rooms from 11 units within three hospitals were measured acoustically and correlated with HCAHPS ‘Quietness of the Hospital Environment’ surveys at room and unit-levels, revealing acoustical metrics linked to patient perceptions of hospital soundscape conditions. Metrics found to be most statistically correlated (p \u3c 0.05), included the absolute LAMIN levels in patient rooms, which found significantly higher HCAHPS ‘Quietness of the Hospital Environment’ scores in units with average LAMIN levels below 35 dBA. Many other standard acoustical metrics (such as LAEQ , LAMAX, LCPEAK, and LA90) were not found to be statistically correlated between measured acoustical data and HCAHPS ‘Quietness’ patient responses, emphasizing the difficulties faced when evaluating hospital soundscapes. The third phase of this research involved the creation and administration of a subjective perceptual laboratory test designed to assess the annoyance perception of hospital soundscapes with varying dynamic ranges of noise. It was found that subjects perceived soundscapes with a wider dynamic range of noise and louder peak noise events more negatively than soundscapes with a more consistent sound level. Taken as a whole, this study provides new insights into the potential relationships between hospital noise and patient and staff satisfaction. The three research phases aimed to address this issue from different perspectives to provide a broad assessment of this very complicated issue. The data gathered and presented could be utilized to more accurately assess hospital soundscapes and ultimately aid in the design process of new hospitals to improve patient and staff satisfaction

Evaluation of Hospital Soundscapes to Improve Patient and Staff Experience

Hospital soundscapes can be difficult environments to assess acoustically due to the continuous activity within units. Routinely, patients perceive these soundscapes poorly when rating their hospital experience on HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) surveys administered after discharge. In addition, hospital staff can be negatively impacted by the acoustical environments in which they work, affecting both performance and job satisfaction. This doctoral research addressed these issues across three phases by collecting acoustical measurements within three individual hospitals, comparing results with provided patient and staff survey information, and conducting laboratory tests of hospital noise perception. In the first two phases of this research, 38 patient rooms from 11 units within three hospitals were measured acoustically and correlated with HCAHPS ‘Quietness of the Hospital Environment’ surveys at room and unit-levels, revealing acoustical metrics linked to patient perceptions of hospital soundscape conditions. Metrics found to be most statistically correlated (p \u3c 0.05), included the absolute LAMIN levels in patient rooms, which found significantly higher HCAHPS ‘Quietness of the Hospital Environment’ scores in units with average LAMIN levels below 35 dBA. Many other standard acoustical metrics (such as LAEQ , LAMAX, LCPEAK, and LA90) were not found to be statistically correlated between measured acoustical data and HCAHPS ‘Quietness’ patient responses, emphasizing the difficulties faced when evaluating hospital soundscapes. The third phase of this research involved the creation and administration of a subjective perceptual laboratory test designed to assess the annoyance perception of hospital soundscapes with varying dynamic ranges of noise. It was found that subjects perceived soundscapes with a wider dynamic range of noise and louder peak noise events more negatively than soundscapes with a more consistent sound level. Taken as a whole, this study provides new insights into the potential relationships between hospital noise and patient and staff satisfaction. The three research phases aimed to address this issue from different perspectives to provide a broad assessment of this very complicated issue. The data gathered and presented could be utilized to more accurately assess hospital soundscapes and ultimately aid in the design process of new hospitals to improve patient and staff satisfaction

Sedimentology and origin of lower Cretaceous pelagic carbonates and redeposited clastics at DSDP Hole 76-534A

Drilling at Site 534 in the Blake-Bahama Basin recovered 268 m of Lower Cretaceous, Berriasian to Hauterivian, pelagic carbonates, together with volumetrically minor intercalations of claystone, black shales, and terrigenous and calcareous elastics. Radiolarian nannofossil pelagic carbonates accumulated in water depths of about 3300 to 3650 m, below the ACD (aragonite compensation depth) but close to the CCD (calcite compensation depth). Radiolarian abundance points to a relatively fertile ocean. In the Hauterivian and Barremian, during times of warm, humid climate and rising sea level, turbiditic influxes of both terrigenous and calcareous sediments, and minor debris flows were derived from the adjacent Blake Plateau. The claystones and black shales accumulated on the continental rise, then were redeposited onto the abyssal plain by turbidity currents. Dark organic-rich and pale organic-poor couplets are attributed to climatic variations on land, which controlled the input of terrigenous organic matter. Highly persistent, fine, parallel lamination in the pelagic chalks is explained by repeated algal "blooms." During early diagenesis, organic-poor carbonates remained oxygenated and were cemented early, whereas organic-rich intervals, devoid of burrowing organisms, continued to compact later in diagenesis. Interstitial dissolved-oxygen levels fluctuated repeatedly, but bottom waters were never static nor anoxic. The central western Atlantic in the Lower Cretaceous was thus a relatively fertile and wellmixed ocean basin