A survey of acoustic conditions and noise levels in secondary school classrooms in England

An acoustic survey of secondary schools in England has been undertaken. Room acoustic parameters and background noise levels were measured in 185 unoccupied spaces in 13 schools to provide information on the typical acoustic environment of secondary schools. The unoccupied acoustic and noise data were correlated with various physical characteristics of the spaces. Room height and the amount of glazing were related to the unoccupied reverberation time and therefore need to be controlled to reduce reverberation to suitable levels for teaching and learning. Further analysis of the unoccupied data showed that the introduction of legislation relating to school acoustics in England and Wales in 2003 approximately doubled the number of school spaces complying with current standards. Noise levels were also measured during 274 lessons to examine typical levels generated during teaching activities in secondary schools and to investigate the influence of acoustic design on working noise levels in the classroom. Comparison of unoccupied and occupied data showed that unoccupied acoustic conditions affect the noise levels occurring during lessons. They were also related to the time spent in disruption to the lessons (e.g., students talking or shouting) and so may also have an impact upon student behavior in the classroom

Towards the automatic assessment of spatial quality in the reproduced sound environment.

The research in this thesis describes the creation and development of a method for the prediction of perceived spatial quality. The QESTRAL1 model is an objective evaluation model capable of accurately predicting changes to perceived spatial quality. It uses probe signals and a set of objective metrics to measure changes to low-level spatial attributes. A polynomial weighting function derived from regression analysis is used to predict data from listening tests, which employed spatial audio processes (SAPs) proven to stress those low-level attributes. A listening test method was developed for collecting listener judgements of impairments to spatial quality. This involved the creation of a novel test interface to reduce the biases inherent in other similar audio quality assessment tests. Pilot studies were undertaken which established the suitability of the method. Two large scale listening tests were conducted using 31 Tomneister students from the Institute of Sound Recording (IoSR), University of Surrey. These tests evaluated 48 different SAPs, typically encountered in consumer sound reproduction equipment, when applied to 6 types of programme material. The tests were conducted at two listening positions to determine how perceived spatial quality was changed. Analysis of the data collected from these listening tests showed that the SAPs created a diverse range of judgements that spanned the range of the spatial quality test scale and that listening position, programme material type and listener each had a statistically significant influence upon perceived spatial quality. These factors were incorporated into a database of 308 responses used to calibrate the model. The model was calibrated using partial least-squares regression using target specifications similar to those of audio quality models created by other researchers. This resulted in five objective metrics being selected for use in the model. A method of post correction using an exponential equation was used to reduce non-linearity in the predicted results, thought to be caused by the inability of some metrics to scrutinise the highest quality SAPs. The resulting model had a correlation (r) of 0.89 and an error (RMSE) of 11.06% and performs similarly to models developed by other researchers. Statistical analysis also indicated that the model would generalise to a larger population of listeners

Acoustics and noise in English secondary schools

In this paper we describe how we have added support for dynamic delegation of authority that is enacted via the issuing of credentials from one user to another, to the XACML model for authorisation decision making. Initially we present the problems and requirements that such a model demands, considering that multiple domains will typically be involved. We then describe our architected solution based on the XACML conceptual and data flow models. We also present at a conceptual level the policy elements that are necessary to support this model of dynamic delegation of authority. Given that these policy elements are significantly different to those of the existing XACML policy, we propose a new conceptual entity called the Credential Validation Service (CVS), to work alongside the XACML PDP in the authorisation decision making. Finally we present an overview of our first specification of such a policy and its implementation in the corresponding CVS

Acoustics and noise in English secondary schools

A recent project has investigated acoustical conditions in secondary schools in England, in order to examine the effects of the acoustic environment on teaching and learning of 11- To 16-year-olds. The project consisted of detailed acoustic and noise surveys of 185 teaching spaces in 13 schools; questionnaire surveys of around 2500 pupils and 200 teachers; and cognitive testing of students in different noise conditions. This paper presents the results of the acoustic and noise surveys of unoccupied teaching spaces, and compares them with the current standards on the acoustic design of schools in England, introduced in 2003. It is shown that the legislation has been effective in improving the acoustic environment in schools. Noise levels measured during 274 lessons in the same 13 schools are summarised, and the levels associated with different subjects and teaching activities examined. The lesson noise levels have been compared with unoccupied acoustic data to identify any influence of acoustic design on operational school noise levels. It was found that the better the acoustic design of the school, the lower were lesson noise levels