Laboratories as open-plan offices Since March 2020, the coronavirus disease was formally characterized as a pandemic. Since that time, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to high demand for healthcare resources. Laboratory activities surged due to the rapid increase in testing. In hospitals or clinics, laboratories operate mainly in the domain of patient-related research and analyses. […]
acoustics
Counteracting post-pandemic literacy delays through better classroom acoustics
Effects of COVID-19 on children’s literacy levels worldwide After COVID-19 struck in January 2020, schools were some of the first institutions to close as wave upon wave of restrictions and lockdowns were applied globally. With such a sudden discontinuation of many children’s schooling, the effects of the pandemic on the learning and development have been […]
Baltic-Nordic Acoustics Meeting 2021
The Nordic Acoustic Association and the Norwegian Acoustical Society invited scientists and engineers to attend the Baltic-Nordic Acoustic Meeting for 2021 this week and despite an online set-up the program consisted of keynote lectures, invited and contributed papers in structured parallel sessions. Some of the really interesting presentations are described here but you can find […]
New research: Sleep in the ICU
Acoustic interruptions A recent study published in Critical Care Explorations revealed a potential relationship between acoustic interruptions and worsened perceived sleep quality. One of the results was that patients were exposed to 4,861 acoustic interruptions in total during the night! The conception that critically ill patients are too ill to reflect on their sound environment […]
Neurodiversity – should acousticians be paying attention to this topic?
There is ever increasing acknowledgement of the need for diversity of thought within all spheres of society. When it comes to the workplace, understanding more about this topic and how people on the edges of the spectrum can be better supported within workplaces, will contribute to evolving organisations into more inclusive environments. “Neurodiversity” refers […]
Podcast episode: Healthcare noise
Soundproofist Soundproofist is a great blog and podcast universe about noise and acoustics issues driven by Cary Norsworthy and on the website, she states that ”Noise is a power struggle. Noise creates conflict. Conversely, acoustics is an art. And learning what makes acoustics sound great is a skill that each of us can learn.” – […]
Internoise 2020: Binge watch paper presentations like Netflix!
”Good evening, good morning or good afternoon…” – that was how Internoise 2020 was kicked off today Sunday the 23rd of August at 20.00 KST – live on youtube for the whole world to attend. For the first time ever Internoise is held as an e-congress and The Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering […]
Seeing sound: Psychoacoustics of work and play – Learning sessions in the time of Covid-19
The global Covid-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the way we live and work. Connection is both far more challenging due to social distancing measures, and also far easier because of the connectivity that is provided through the internet and digital platforms. Everywhere one looks, there is another previously face-to-face activity that has been moved online […]
How close are we to understanding how buildings affect our emotion?
Having met Isabella Bower while she was a research associate with the research team LEaRN we have been following her own research about how buildings affect our emotion. So we asked her to share insights from her research examining how design characteristics of buildings modulate neural networks involved in emotion regulation. Isabella’s work explores what […]
Prevent arousals and awakenings in hospitals
In search of a noisy environment? Visit a hospital. Studies show that noise levels are high due to operational activities, communication, alarms, and noise from medical equipment, along with structural sounds from the building (such as ventilation and closing doors). Already back in 1859, nurse Florence Nightingale declared how “unnecessary noise is the cruelest abuse of […]
