Here is the abstract to my PhD thesis entitled "The effects of expectation on the perception of soundscapes", if you would like more information, please contact me directly. I will shortly be posting the introduction chapter.Abstract This thesis discusses how expectation is a contributory factor in the perception of soundscapes. “Soundscape” is a term attributed to R.Murray Schafer to define the acoustic environment, a recent ISO workgroup has proposed a formal definition as the “perception and understanding of an acoustic environment, in context, by the individual, or by a society” As such there is a move away from traditional acoustic methods of understanding environmental sound towards a more holistic, and interdisciplinary, approach to the sound environment. Previous soundscape research has identified the importance of semantic meaning attributed to soundscapes focusing on investigating linguistic and textual approaches of how people describe the soundscape. This thesis aims to extend the concept of meaning to give an insight into what particular soundscapes mean to people, and if this related to a predefined expectation based on context. This work expands Truax‟s notion of soundscape competence, and investigates how people perceive the soundscape. In particular how expectation of a particular space impacts on the perception of that space. This in turn addresses the issue of defining a context for a space and understanding how the soundscape is of importance to perception of spaces.The research which forms this work uses a number of interdisciplinary methods, from the fields of acoustics, social science and psychology, with the aim of developing a new qualitative and quantitative methodology for soundscape research. The work consists of qualitative fieldwork, and the development of a soundscape simulator in the laboratory. Through the use of an enhanced version of soundwalking, participants were asked questions aimed to analyse their pre-determined environmental expectation and their actual experience of a number of different spaces, and how this impacts on their perception and evaluation of the soundscape. The soundscape simulator was a tool by which participants could control and design their own soundscapes, whilst providing useful quantitative and qualitative data about choices made in the design process. Soundscape expectation is shown to relate not only to competence in perceiving the components of the soundscape but also to attitudes towards safety, social norms, accepted behaviour, visual aesthetics and control attributed to the space. Expectation based on competence forms the basis of place expectation or context, and relates to the overall perception of the soundscape for each space. When one or more of these factors conflict with a perceived place expectation, then perception of the soundscape becomes more important and impacts on the perception of the space. This work concludes that the meaning of a soundscape and its perception is related to an individual‟s expectation of the context of a space.Keywords : Soundscape, sound design, urban planning, expectation, competence, content, sound scapeCopyright 2011 Dr Neil Bruce - University of Salford
So...
...it's been a while since my last post and a fair amount has happened. Primarily, I am living and fighting against a lot of the things I talk about in the blog. I have been made redundant from a job which I loved, and I have been going through the totally insane process of leaving. It just goes to show that you shouldn't perhaps think that it can't happen to you. For me it was yet another wake up call in the realisation I had many years ago...the sacrifice for the constant paycheck probably isn't worth it. There is no loyalty, no matter how much you might give to the job. You are better of breaking free and doing your own thing. I think now more than ever it is the best time to go it alone, try a portfolio career and most of all ENJOY Life!!
How did 'work' work in the days before computers?
Well for a start I wouldn't be doing this (well I would except in a journal and a guess no one would every read it!). I also wouldn't have this job (or most of the jobs I have done in my accidental IT career....yeah the money was good, but boy do I hate it!) I would probably be building some mechanical tool of some description I guess (trying to find a suitable analogy between a computer program and another old school type of job). Also I imagine that conditions in bygone offices were not as nice as ours today, and I am sure working conditions were appalling in most situations.But the point is, I am in an office and everyone is in silence staring at their screens, typing endlessly away on their keyboards. But what is actually happening? what is the this feeding? a huge data bank of what? What did these people do before this?I am guessing not sit in silence in a office. (but I a maybe wrong). I just feel like that we are becoming more like robots. Instead of asking a question of a colleague we ask google. I guess some of that comes from that fact that 'asking a question' shows that we don't know something....therefore can'tbe any good at our job and should therefore be sacked....or replaced by someone who knows everything in the world. This was certainly the feeling I got at my recent interviews, where I had to perform a number of IT tests.They basically prove that unless you know every single thing about a language (I know some people out there do...full credit to you), you aren't worthy of the job, because lo and behold would you ask someone...or look in a book.Instead of having free thought and discussing ideas we search the Internet. Is this because it is a sin to talk in some offices? Or you managed to scrape through the interview test and know you got lucky so you can't ask anyone a simple question otherwise you will be shown to be no good....and replaced.Everyone in fear of failure, you can see it everywhere.....must work later than everyone else and get in earlier asthat is what a good employee does. Even if I don't produce good results, as long as I am here and head down that is key. I mustn't take a lunch break, as they are for losers. I must just be at my desk, tapping away into the endless void of the digital world.I was once fortunate to work for some one who had the best attitude of all...I don't care how you do it, who you ask, what time you come in, when you come in as long as the work is done and the work is good. That is the best motivation in the world!! and isn't that all the matters really? getting the job done? What does sitting at a desk at precisely 8am prove? ....oops I have gone off on a tangent!So back to the topic....Don't get me wrong, I love the Internet and think it is one of the greatest human achievements ever, but I am not so much talking about the Internet as I am about machines and the jobs we now do/have.The computer is basically a tool to make our lives easier, it is a huge big calculator, Which can perform amazing feats. But is it stealing our humanity? I mean the hammer is a tool, so is a drill. But most people do not spend 10 hours constantly banging with a hammer without taking a break, or lookingup from their task....or are afraid to stop hammering (even though the nail is in the wall) because not hammering is a bad sign that they aren't working hard enough.I guess what i am trying to say is that how come pretty much every office job these days involves a machine and sitting at a desk. Was writing a letter by hand a creative work? is that creativity killed off by typing at a machine. What did a secretary do in bygone days? answer the phone/arrange things etc. Now what would they do without a computer? Now everyone has to be typing reports of some description, or logging things, accounting for things,working with complex inventory tools....all off which produce more reports. We are being inundated with reports for this and for that, and know what everything is doing all of the time...blah blah blah. Information is power, but do we all need to know all the information all the time? The stationary department, is it easier to walk across the room to check to see if you have any pencils rather than access a database, scroll through x number of screens to be told you have 6 left. Will this constant sitting down/working at a machine posture affect our evolution? We sit dormant at machines all day, filling our faces full of treats to make the day go faster and then wonder why we need to go to gyms/exercise classes. If our job involved movement and we liked it, I guess most of us (myself included) would be in much better shape. What examples are we setting for the next generation? 'Listen Jimmy you should aim to be stuck in an office as that is the best career move for you...you will hate it and it will destroy your soul, damage your health and ruin your humanity'.Will we lose the ability to craft things with our hands as they become metamorphosed via evolution into the shape of a mouse or playstation keypad. Will we lose our 180 degree vision because we stare so intently at a screen. Will we think the sounds of the outside are alien as we are now accustomed to the hum of computer fans.The Internet is the great source of information, but we are constantly feeding it new information, adding to the vast data banks. I mean I am doing it now, why am I doing this on a machine instead of writing it on paper? Why should anyone be interested in this drivel?Yes the Internet allows me to communicate like never before, at anytime of the day and night, with my close friends across continents. But being at a computer all day is sucking away the basic human skills of discussion with fellow humans. Why go to a shop now and ask the assistant about an item? Well itis easier to do it on line, plus you can view opinions of people you have never met on the item you want to buy (the fact that sales assistants these daysgenerally....I said generally...know nothing about what they are selling is another matter.....don't believe me...go into any pro audio shop...especially one in Central London...no names mentioned....any ask them anything more probing that the price and be met with a blank face...or them telling you about something you should buy as it is on special offer....rant over!).In days gone by, you would ask your friends about the items, or go to a shop and talk with someone who knew the product. Phone the company perhaps, ask for testimonials. Now that has all changed....who do we really talk to these days? We are so busy typing into machines, that the basic joy of communication seems to be becoming a dying art....or maybe just where i work! =@)Is it time to start talking again?PeaceN
Don't Panic #riots
DON'T PANIC :) We are living in interesting times! What we seeing, as I have been babbling on about for a while now, is the death (or should that be transformation) of the prevalent ideologies of consumerism and capitalism and a transition to a new period in human history (which tends to happen every 3 generations), more than likely we are entering a period of a technologically controlled Totalitarian dystopia. It is our 'Fin de siecle', brought on by having more stuff than we know what to do with and no worth or value from our peers, leading to boredom amongst the youth and celebrated decadence promoted at the norm. The lies fed to us by politicians and I am sad to say the media are so transparent that they induce cynicism in the populous. We are witnessing a change in the balance of power, a change in value systems, and a change in the basic humanity of large parts of the population. The false gods of commerce and entitlement are crumbling! (I'm not a socialist by the way, just a realist!)
Criticism and happiness
Why do we do things that make us unhappy?
Hmmm this is a difficult one. I am stuck here, as I have been for several months (years) trying to finish my PhD thesis, and I am sat here wondering why am I going against everything I talk about on this blog, about turning around things that make us unhappy.
Now this is a really tricky one. I am a huge advocat of not doing something which makes us tragically unhappy....hey we only have one life right? But maybe sometimes we have to force ourselves to do things we don't want.....maybe time for some back story
How did I come to be doing a PhD in the first place, well on reflection, for all the wrong reasons. I hated my job, and I mean hated my job, I wanted to break free, I had realised there was more to life :) and an opportunity arose, to apply to do a PhD in a subject which was very dear to my heart. Given my age, career to that point and a variety of other factors, I knew that the descision was likely to go against me.....but...well it didn't! I had escaped my job, left my career behind and embarked on something new. I have learnt a lot during my journey, but ultimately we still end up sometimes being stuck with a lack of confidence. It is that which is really preventing me from finishing. The knowledge that no matter how hard I work, I am letting myself in for being criticised! So the lesson is accept that whatever you will do in life, you will be critised and the lesson is how you cope with the criticism, because ultimately the person critising you, the one who is making you feel unhappy (as I am now), is only doing it because they feel they have to, or to make them feel superior, or because the genuinely want to make your work better. Ultimately you will never know, but if you approach it with the attitude that it is to help you grow and move on then it might make you happier and less worried! It is what Seth Godin calls the lizard brain, conquer that and you will be free!!
(Note since I wrote this post, I have submitted my PhD and passed my viva!! It was worth it in the end!!)
Weekly Quote
“…don’t live someone else's idea of what your life should be…” – Anon
Linchpins by Seth Godin
I have just finished reading Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? How to Drive Your Career and Create a Remarkable Future
Exploring the world
Here are some pictures from a recent trip to Morocco, always refreshing to travel and explore the world, and see it from a different angle!http://tinyurl.com/3e5ogvt
5 tips for New Years Resolutions
So that time of year is coming, that time when we look back at the previous year and plan ahead for the future, and for a lot of us (if you are anything like me!), we make unachievable goals for the new year! Well, that and the inevitable pressure from others to have mammoth life changing New Years Resolutions! Been there, got the teeshirt! So how do we set goals (or resolutions) that we can keep and achieve?Here is my top five guide to achievable New Years Resolutions1) Do Something you want to doChoose something that you really want to do, not something you feel pressured into by peer pressure, or something that everyone else does, i.e. do you really want to give up smoking? I mean do you REALLY want to do it, or is it something you feel you should do, because everyone else is doing it at that time of the year? The First step is do something because YOU want to2) You can do it, no matter what it isFollowing on from Number 1, if you really want to do something, no matter how hard it is, you can do it, and you have to believe you can do it, if you want to give up smoking, change your career, climb Mount Everest, swim with Dolphins, jog more, paint whatever, YOU CAN DO IT!3) It's okay to lapseFollowing on from Number 2, no matter how big your goal, or how small, you must break it down into managable steps. Some people can just quit smoking on the 1st of January, or start a gym course, or give up chocolate and never eat it again through sheer will power. But for the rest of us, having a bar of chocolate on the 3rd means we have broken the resolution, and revert back to normal. The key is, if you lapse, it is okay!! Just realise that it is a lapse and say to yourself 'I lapsed', but I am carrying on.....4) Small is the new bigReiterating the notion that you need to set small goals, you can change your life in an instant, but only if you decided to do small things. You can't change your career overnight, but you can put in place the decision to change your career in an instant....it is that instant that you decided that you want to look for something else, the moment you start investigating something else, that is the moment of change and then everything else will follow, it is the same for other resolutions....the moment you decide not to have a cigarette, is the moment of change, you just have to build on that....and refer back to point 3!5) It's is yours...you own itDon't worry what other's say, if it is what you want to do, you should do it. Remember there will be those who encourage you, and those who will taunt you, listen to both, but ultimately ignore both. Listen to your voice, listen to what you want, it's your goal, your resolution, you own it, don't be swayed from the path!Good luck out there!Peace!