Browsing by Author "Acun, Volkan"

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    Аn indoor soundscape survey on the user’s coping methods for noise annoyance, disturbance and loss of concentration in public study areas
    (AESOP, 2017) Acun, Volkan; Yilmazer, Semiha
    During last decades, group study areas has started to be a common feature, especially in libraries. Unlike a traditional library, where the students are delivered library services, these spaces are encourage students to take command of their own (Bennett, 2007). These spaces are also popular especially among undergraduate students as they incorporate academic work and social activities by providing informal grounds (Applegate, 2009; Bryant, et. al., 2009). The flexibility of usage allowed open learning spaces to be used for both collaborative and individual study. In contrast with the strict silent zones of traditional library study areas, these informal study areas are prone to possible issues regarding the sound environment. In silent study areas, sound levels can become a source of frustration (Çankaya & Yilmazer, 2016; Harrop & Turpin, 2013), but in the informal public study areas, the students can get to adapt the sound levels even though it possible gets much higher than silent zones (Bryant et al., 2009). It was also expressed by the students that sound levels expressed a positive contribution to the social identity of space in open learning areas (Harrop & Turpin, 2013). This positive contribution to the place identity is not solely caused by the sound levels but by the expectation which is highly related with the context of sound environment. With this regard, the acoustic environment of the public study areas should not be evaluated solely based on the sound levels, but also with the individuals’ perception of the soundscape.