Testing a theory of aircraft noise annoyance: A structural equation analysis (original) (raw)
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DETERMINING THE DIRECTION OF CAUSALITY BETWEEN PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS AND AIRCRAFT NOISE ANNOYANCE
Multi-Science
In this paper, an attempt is made to establish the direction of causality between a range of psychological factors and aircraft noise annoyance. For this purpose, a panel model was estimated within a structural equation modeling approach. Data were gathered from two surveys conducted in April 2006 and April 2008, respectively, among the same residents living within the 45 Level day-evening-night contour of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the largest airport in the Netherlands (n=250). A surprising result is that none of the paths from the psychological factors to aircraft noise annoyance were found to be significant. Yet 2 effects were significant the other way around: (1) from 'aircraft noise annoyance' to 'concern about the negative health effects of noise' and (2) from 'aircraft noise annoyance' to 'belief that noise can be prevented.' Hence aircraft noise annoyance measured at time 1 contained information that can effectively explain changes in these 2 variables at time 2, while controlling for their previous values. Secondary results show that (1) aircraft noise annoyance is very stable through time and (2) that changes in aircraft noise annoyance and the identified psychological factors are correlated.
A first-principles model for estimating the prevalence of annoyance with aircraft noise exposure
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2011
Numerous relationships between noise exposure and transportation noise-induced annoyance have been inferred by curve-fitting methods. The present paper develops a different approach. It derives a systematic relationship by applying an a priori, first-principles model to the findings of forty three studies of the annoyance of aviation noise. The rate of change of annoyance with day-night average sound level (DNL) due to aircraft noise exposure was found to closely resemble the rate of change of loudness with sound level. The agreement of model predictions with the findings of recent curve-fitting exercises (cf. Miedma and Vos, 1998) is noteworthy, considering that other analyses have relied on different analytic methods and disparate data sets. Even though annoyance prevalence rates within individual communities consistently grow in proportion to duration-adjusted loudness, variability in annoyance prevalence rates across communities remains great. The present analyses demonstrate that 1) community-specific differences in annoyance prevalence rates can be plausibly attributed to the joint effect of acoustic and non-DNL related factors and (2) a simple model can account for the aggregate influences of non-DNL related factors on annoyance prevalence rates in different communities in terms of a single parameter expressed in DNL units-a "community tolerance level.
Measuring subjective response to aircraft noise: The effects of survey context
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2013
In applied research, noise annoyance is often used as indicator of subjective reaction to aircraft noise in residential areas. The present study aims to show that the meaning which respondents attach to the concept of aircraft noise annoyance is partly a function of survey context. To this purpose a survey is conducted among residents living near Schiphol Airport, the largest airport in the Netherlands. In line with the formulated hypotheses it is shown that different sets of preceding questionnaire items influence the response distribution of aircraft noise annoyance as well as the correlational patterns between aircraft noise annoyance and other relevant scales.
Proceedings of the ICA congress, 2019
The Multiple Item Noise Annoyance Scale (MIAS) measures noise annoyance as a multidimensional concept including (1) the experience of an often repeated noise-related disturbance and the behavioural response to it, (2) an emotional/attitudinal response to the sound and its disturbing impact, (3) the perception of control of the noise situation. MIAS consists of seven items including the 5-point ICBEN noise annoyance scale and the sub-dimensions 'noise disturbances' and 'lack of coping capacity', each consisting of three items. Its psychometric properties are investigated for aircraft, road, and railway noise annoyance. In this study, we analyse changes in values of the sub-dimensions of MIAS for aircraft noise annoyance before and after the opening of a new runway and the implementation of a night curfew in communities around Frankfurt Airport. Previous studies have shown evidence of a shift in exposure-response relationships for annoyance in situations of changes in noise exposure (change effect). With the assessment of MIAS and its components, it can be identified whether the change effect is more pronounced in the 'disturbance' component of annoyance or in the lack of capacity to cope with the (new) noise situation. This improves the understanding of annoyance in situations of changes in noise exposure.
The Development of a Multiple-Item Annoyance Scale (MIAS) for Transportation Noise Annoyance
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
In 2001, Team#6 of the International Commission on Biological Effects of Noise (ICBEN) recommended the use of two single international standardised questions and response scales. This recommendation has been widely accepted in the scientific community. Nevertheless, annoyance can be regarded as a multidimensional construct comprising the three elements: (1) experience of an often repeated noise-related disturbance and the behavioural response to cope with it, (2) an emotional/attitudinal response to the sound and its disturbing impact, and (3) the perceived control or coping capacity with regard to the noise situation. The psychometric properties of items reflecting these three elements have been explored for aircraft noise annoyance. Analyses were conducted using data of the NORAH-Study (Noise-Related Annoyance, Cognition, and Health), and a multi-item noise annoyance scale (MIAS) has been developed and tested post hoc by using a stepwise process (exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses). Preliminary results were presented to the 12th ICBEN Congress in 2017. In this study, the validation of MIAS is done for aircraft noise and extended to railway and road traffic noise. The results largely confirm the concept of MIAS as a second-order construct of annoyance for all of the investigated transportation noise sources; however, improvements can be made, in particular with regard to items addressing the perceived coping capacity.
Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2020
Road traffic noise is affecting the exposed population through its detrimental effects. This study was conducted in urban zones of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to analyze causal relationship between noise and subjective health complaints with a special focus on psychological symptoms. A 12-h (LAeq) noise survey conducted at different locations (n = 57) indicated a noise range of 46.3-86.3 dB (A). A questionnaire survey was conducted from local residents (n = 500), students (n = 500), policemen (n = 500), shopkeepers (n = 500), and drivers (n = 500) exposed to road traffic noise and analyzed through structure equation modeling (SEM). Different models were prepared and a modified model obtained the acceptable model fit, i.e., chi-square 0.093, χ 2 /df 1.286, comparative fit index 0.986, goodness of fit index 0.966, normed fit index 0.943, Tucker-Lewis index 0.977, and root mean square error of approximation 0.034. The modified model gives not only the information about direct but also indirect effects of noise on the exposed population. Adding on, the model clearly indicates that sensitivity to noise has strong relationship with subjective health complaints (headache, exhaustion, and psychological symptoms such as annoyance, difficulty concentrating, ill temper, and anxiety) than profession, age, location, and gender. Duration of exposure to road traffic noise has an important role in increasing the frequency of subjective health issues. The model is important in depicting that sensitivity to noise may produce subjective health complaints (standardized parameter estimates of 0.12 and 0.29) but the mediator has much stronger positive path estimates (0.59). The modified model sought to discover and explicate the underlying mechanism of an observed relationship existing between the selected dependent and an independent variable through the identification of the mediator variables.
The Number-of-Events as a Predictor Variable in Aircraft Noise Annoyance Models
2013
The error plots in (a) and (b) are from using the Full S sample estimates; in (c) and (d), RSD estimates; and (e) and (f), RR estimates. The error plots in the left column ((a), (c), and (e)) are from using the N&L model estimates and in the right column ((b), (d), and (f)), DN L model estimates. The resolution of the plots is 0.
Policy, personal dispositions and the evaluation of aircraft noise
Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2011
In this paper, we hypothesize and test the ideas that (1) people's subjectivity in relation to aircraft noise is shaped by the policy discourse, (2) this results in a limited number of frames towards aircraft noise, (3) the frames inform people how to think and feel about aircraft noise and (4) the distribution of the frames in the population is dependent on structural variables related to the individual. To reveal subjects' frames of aircraft noise a latent class model is estimated based on survey data gathered among a sample of 250 residents living near Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, a major international airport in the Netherlands. In line with expectations, the results show that there are four evaluative frames of aircraft noise, three of which are strongly linked to the policy discourse. The frames are associated with fitting levels of annoyance response. In turn, frame membership is influenced by two structural variables, namely aircraft noise exposure and noise sensitivity. The results indicate that social factors operate discursively in the explanation of subjective reaction to noise, while psychological factors operate within a traditional cause-and-effect model. The paper concludes with several policy implications.
Temporal trends in aircraft noise annoyance
Several recently published studies have investigated potential temporal trends in aircraft noise annoyance. Some of these studies suggest that people nowadays react more strongly to aircraft noise -by as much as an order of magnitude -than they did in the 1960s. Other studies have failed to detect such a trend, or attributed it to differences in survey methods, noise estimation methods, airport operations, and other factors that do not affect energyweighted exposure levels. This paper analyzes Community Tolerance Level (CTL) values from 57 studies on aircraft noise annoyance conducted between 1961 and 2014 for trends over time.