Vegetation in urban streets, squares, and courtyards

One of various ways in which vegetation cover used in the greening of urban areas can help improve the health and well-being of people is in how it changes the acoustic environment. This chapter presents findings of computer simulations and scale modelling to examine and quantify the effectiveness of green roof and green wall (vertical garden) systems in reducing road traffic noise for streets, squares, and roadside courtyards. Noise reduction by sound absorption in reflected and diffracted (over roofs) sound paths is investigated. Particular attention is paid to the importance of vegetation placement relative to the receiver/listening positions. Because the soil substrate used for the vertical walls has good sound absorption properties, it also can be used for green barriers. In this chapter, the effects of a low barrier made of green wall substrate are studied for an installation on the ground and on the top of buildings surrounding a courtyard

Constructing a Periodic Table of Arguments

The existing classifications of arguments are unsatisfying in a number of ways. This paper proposes an alternative in the form of a Periodic Table of Arguments. The newly developed table can be used as a systematic and comprehensive point of reference for the analysis, evaluation and production of argumentative discourse as well as for various kinds of empirical and computational research in the field of argumentation theory

Why orchestral musicians are bound to wear earplugs: About the ineffectiveness of physical measures to reduce sound exposure

Symphony orchestra musicians are exposed to noise levels that put them at risk of developing hearing damage. This study evaluates the potential effectivity of common control measures used in orchestras on open stages with a typical symphonic setup. A validated acoustic prediction model is used that calculates binaural sound exposure levels at the ears of all musicians in the orchestra. The model calculates the equivalent sound levels for a performance of the first 2 min of the 4th movement of Mahler's 1st symphony, which can be considered representative for loud orchestral music. Calculated results indicate that risers, available space, and screens at typical positions do not significantly influence sound exposure. A hypothetical scenario with surround screens shows that, even when shielding all direct sound from others, sound exposure is reduced moderately with the largest effect on players in loud sections. In contrast, a dramatic change in room acoustic conditions only leads to considerable reductions for soft players. It can be concluded that significant reductions are only reached with extreme measures that are unrealistic. It seems impossible for the studied physical measures to be effective enough to replace hearing protection devices such as ear plugs

Adopting a child perspective for exposome research on mental health and cognitive development - Conceptualisation and opportunities.

Mental disorders among children and adolescents pose a significant global challenge. The exposome framework covering the totality of internal, social and physical exposures over a lifetime provides opportunities to better understand the causes of and processes related to mental health, and cognitive functioning. The paper presents a conceptual framework on exposome, mental health, and cognitive development in children and adolescents, with potential mediating pathways, providing a possibility for interventions along the life course. The paper underscores the significance of adopting a child perspective to the exposome, acknowledging children's specific vulnerability, including differential exposures, susceptibility of effects and capacity to respond; their susceptibility during development and growth, highlighting neurodevelopmental processes from conception to young adulthood that are highly sensitive to external exposures. Further, critical periods when exposures may have significant effects on a child's development and future health are addressed. The paper stresses that children's behaviour, physiology, activity pattern and place for activities make them differently vulnerable to environmental pollutants, and calls for child-specific assessment methods, currently lacking within today's health frameworks. The importance of understanding the interplay between structure and agency is emphasized, where agency is guided by social structures and practices and vice-versa. An intersectional approach that acknowledges the interplay of social and physical exposures as well as a global and rural perspective on exposome is further pointed out. To advance the exposome field, interdisciplinary efforts that involve multiple scientific disciplines are crucial. By adopting a child perspective and incorporating an exposome approach, we can gain a comprehensive understanding of how exposures impact children's mental health and cognitive development leading to better outcomes

The effective air absorption coefficient for predicting reverberation time in full octave bands

A substantial amount of research has been devoted to producing a calculation model for air absorption for pure tones. However, most statistical and geometrical room acoustic prediction models calculate the reverberation time in full octave bands in accordance with ISO 3382-1. So far, the available methods that allow calculation of air absorption in octave bands have not been investigated for room acoustic applications. In this paper, the effect of air absorption on octave band reverberation time calculations is investigated based on calculations. It is found that the approximation method, as described in the standard ANSI S1.26, fails to estimate accurate decay curves for full octave bands. In this paper, a method is used to calculate the energy decay curve in rooms based on a summation of pure tones within the band. From this decay curve, which is found to be slightly concave upwards, T20 and T30 can be determined. For different conditions, an effective intensity attenuation coefficient mB;eff for the full octave bands has been calculated. This mB;eff can be used for reverberation time calculations, if results are to be compared with T20 or T30 measurements. Also, guidelines are given for the air absorption correction of decay curves, measured in a scale model

The effectiveness of foreign-language display in advertising for congruent versus incongruent products

Item does not contain fulltextAdvertising often confronts consumers with foreign languages, such as German or French in the U.S., but little is known about the circumstances under which this is effective. The linguistic theory of foreign-language display claims that the congruence with the product is the essential element in its effectiveness. This study investigates this premise by having Dutch participants (N =150) evaluate ads for products that were (in)congruent with the language of the slogan (French, German, Spanish). Results show that foreign-language display is indeed more effective for congruent (e.g., wine–French) than for incongruent products (e.g., beer–French). KEYWORDS.13 p