Beat Schäffer
YOU?
Author Swipe
View article: In the ear of the beholder: Restorative potential of different audio-visual characteristics of recreational spaces tested in 360° VR
In the ear of the beholder: Restorative potential of different audio-visual characteristics of recreational spaces tested in 360° VR Open
Nature has been linked to various psychophysiological benefits for human restoration from long- and short-term stress. However, progressing urbanization and noise pollution threaten the restorative potential of recreational spaces. The que…
View article: Psychophysiological effects of walking in forests and urban built environments with disparate road traffic noise exposure: A randomized controlled trial
Psychophysiological effects of walking in forests and urban built environments with disparate road traffic noise exposure: A randomized controlled trial Open
People in urbanized societies commonly visit greenspaces to alleviate stress and promote restoration and well-being. However, access to greenspaces is often limited and road traffic noise remains a major environmental stressor in urban are…
View article: Determinants of green space visits in urban areas: The role of personal, situational and physical characteristics. A cross-sectional study in Zurich, Switzerland
Determinants of green space visits in urban areas: The role of personal, situational and physical characteristics. A cross-sectional study in Zurich, Switzerland Open
The continued growth and densification of urban areas leads to increased road traffic noise exposure for residents and associated health impacts. Green spaces can alleviate these adverse effects by serving as restorative environments and t…
View article: The association of residential greenery with noise annoyance depends on transport source and environmental context: Insights from the large-scale NORAH study
The association of residential greenery with noise annoyance depends on transport source and environmental context: Insights from the large-scale NORAH study Open
A growing body of literature highlights residential greenery (green vegetation in general and/or greenspaces) as a means to reduce negative health effects of transportation noise. A recent study using the Swiss nation-wide SiRENE survey da…
View article: Urban noise vs. nature’s calm: A Swiss study of noise annoyance and the role of residential green
Urban noise vs. nature’s calm: A Swiss study of noise annoyance and the role of residential green Open
View article: Military aircraft noise and drug administrations in psychiatric patients: Follow-up and in-depth case-time series analysis
Military aircraft noise and drug administrations in psychiatric patients: Follow-up and in-depth case-time series analysis Open
Background: In a previous study, we demonstrated that military aircraft noise increases the short-term probability of on-demand drug administrations in patients in a psychiatric clinic located in close proximity to a military airfield. The…
View article: The role of greenness and road traffic noise for psychological restoration in everyday environments. A participatory mapping approach
The role of greenness and road traffic noise for psychological restoration in everyday environments. A participatory mapping approach Open
Greenness and noise are important environmental determinants of human health. The rapid urbanization and population growth have intensified the densification of urban environments, escalating traffic noise and the depletion of green spaces…
View article: Assessing the influence of ground cover, buildings and meteorological conditions on annual aircraft noise exposure: sensitivity study with the simulation tool sonAIR
Assessing the influence of ground cover, buildings and meteorological conditions on annual aircraft noise exposure: sensitivity study with the simulation tool sonAIR Open
The next-generation aircraft noise simulation tool sonAIR was developed for the precise prediction of single flights and for acoustic optimisation of noise abatement flight procedures. As the tool is also capable to calculate complex scena…
View article: Investigating effect chains from cognitive and noise-induced short-term stress build-up to restoration in an urban or nature setting using 360° VR
Investigating effect chains from cognitive and noise-induced short-term stress build-up to restoration in an urban or nature setting using 360° VR Open
Population growth and increasing urbanization leads to growing exposure to traffic noise and a decline in accessible green spaces that could promote restoration from noise-induced stress. The objective of this virtual reality laboratory st…
View article: Flyover auralization of a blended wing body aircraft considering atmospheric turbulence effects
Flyover auralization of a blended wing body aircraft considering atmospheric turbulence effects Open
In the ARTEM project a novel blended wing body (BWB) long-range aircraft was designed and optimized for low-noise operation. Virtual flyovers of different BWB vehicle variants were synthesized and auralized in the AuraLab using a loudspeak…
View article: Short-term noise annoyance towards drones and other transportation noise sources: A laboratory study
Short-term noise annoyance towards drones and other transportation noise sources: A laboratory study Open
Noise from unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly referred to as “drones,” will likely shape our acoustic environment in the near future. Yet, reactions of the population to this new noise source are still little explored. The objective of thi…
View article: Impact of buildings, forests and cliffs on aircraft noise mapping: Case study
Impact of buildings, forests and cliffs on aircraft noise mapping: Case study Open
Current best practice aircraft noise calculations primarily focus on strategic noise mapping to assess compliance with legal noise limits. To date, the effects of shielding by buildings or reflections from buildings, forests or cliffs have…
View article: Replicating outdoor environments using VR and ambisonics: a methodology for accurate audio-visual recording, processing and reproduction
Replicating outdoor environments using VR and ambisonics: a methodology for accurate audio-visual recording, processing and reproduction Open
This paper introduces a methodology tailored to capture, post-process, and replicate audio-visual data of outdoor environments (urban or natural) for VR experiments carried out within a controlled laboratory environment. The methodology co…
View article: Psychophysiological effects of walking in forests and urban built environments with disparate road traffic noise exposure: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial
Psychophysiological effects of walking in forests and urban built environments with disparate road traffic noise exposure: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial Open
View article: Long-term exposure to transportation noise and diabetes mellitus mortality: a national cohort study and updated meta-analysis
Long-term exposure to transportation noise and diabetes mellitus mortality: a national cohort study and updated meta-analysis Open
Background Long-term exposure to transportation noise is related to cardio-metabolic diseases, with more recent evidence also showing associations with diabetes mellitus (DM) incidence. This study aimed to evaluate the association between …
View article: Psychophysiological effects of walking in forests and urban built environments with disparate road traffic noise exposure: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial
Psychophysiological effects of walking in forests and urban built environments with disparate road traffic noise exposure: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial Open
Background Stress is a widespread phenomenon and reality of everyday life, entailing negative consequences for physical and psychological wellbeing. Previous studies have indicated that exposure to greenspaces and nature-based intervention…
View article: Acute effects of military aircraft noise on sedative and analgesic drug administrations in psychiatric patients: A case-time series analysis
Acute effects of military aircraft noise on sedative and analgesic drug administrations in psychiatric patients: A case-time series analysis Open
Case time series analysis is a novel method to investigate transient associations in observational data while minimizing risk of bias. Using an objectively recorded outcome measure, our results demonstrate that psychiatric patients are a v…
View article: Influence of buildings, forests and cliffs on aircraft noise exposure mapping - A case study
Influence of buildings, forests and cliffs on aircraft noise exposure mapping - A case study Open
Best practice calculation tools for aircraft noise are currently used for strategic noise mapping and to estimate the noise impact on the population as well as the compliance with legal limit values. A challenging task for these tools is t…
View article: Impact of Buildings, Forests and Cliffs on Aircraft Noise Mapping: Case Study
Impact of Buildings, Forests and Cliffs on Aircraft Noise Mapping: Case Study Open
View article: Effects of sound absorbing facades on the acoustical quality in different simulated inner courtyard situations
Effects of sound absorbing facades on the acoustical quality in different simulated inner courtyard situations Open
Residential perimeter blocks can shield traffic noise, but the acoustical quality may be sub-optimal in the inner courtyards. This study investigated how effective sound-absorbing facade surfaces and balcony soffits as well as an absorbing…
View article: A Methodology for Quantifying the Spatial Distribution and Social Equity of Urban Green and Blue Spaces
A Methodology for Quantifying the Spatial Distribution and Social Equity of Urban Green and Blue Spaces Open
Urban green and blue space (UGBS) contribute to a variety of nature-based values and human health benefits. As such, they play a critical role for the quality of life and sustainability in cities. Here, we use the metropolitan area of Gene…
View article: Perception-based noise assessment of a future blended wing body aircraft concept using synthesized flyovers in an acoustic VR environment—The ARTEM study
Perception-based noise assessment of a future blended wing body aircraft concept using synthesized flyovers in an acoustic VR environment—The ARTEM study Open
New aircraft concepts are currently being developed with the goal of less emissions of CO2 and noise. Remarkable noise reductions in long-range aircraft can only be expected from disruptive vehicle designs, new propulsion systems and speci…
View article: ABSTRACT ONLY - SLEEP DISTURBING EFFECTS OF NIGHTLY CHURCH BELLS RINGINGS & AIRCRAFT NOISE IN THE SWISS POPULATION - AN IMPACT ANALYSIS
ABSTRACT ONLY - SLEEP DISTURBING EFFECTS OF NIGHTLY CHURCH BELLS RINGINGS & AIRCRAFT NOISE IN THE SWISS POPULATION - AN IMPACT ANALYSIS Open
View article: Aircraft noise research in Switzerland - SiRENE and TraNQuIL studies
Aircraft noise research in Switzerland - SiRENE and TraNQuIL studies Open
BACKGROUND AND AIM: The interdisciplinary SiRENE study kicked off a decade of prolific noise research in Switzerland, with state-of-the art source-specific exposure assessment including quantification of temporal noise characteristics for …
View article: Development and application of a semantic differential for perception-based optimization of wind turbine and other broadband sounds
Development and application of a semantic differential for perception-based optimization of wind turbine and other broadband sounds Open
Growing numbers of the population are exposed to wind turbine (WT) and other broadband sound sources from the environment. Acoustically optimizing emissions of environmental noise sources to minimize negative effects on the population ther…
View article: Suicide and Transportation Noise: A Prospective Cohort Study from Switzerland
Suicide and Transportation Noise: A Prospective Cohort Study from Switzerland Open
In this longitudinal, nationwide cohort study, we report a robust association between exposure to road traffic and railway noise and risk of death by suicide after adjusting for exposure to air pollution and greenness. These findings add t…
View article: EVALUATION OF FLYOVER AURALIZATIONS OF TODAY'S AND FUTURE LONG-RANGE AIRCRAFT CONCEPTS
EVALUATION OF FLYOVER AURALIZATIONS OF TODAY'S AND FUTURE LONG-RANGE AIRCRAFT CONCEPTS Open
International audience
View article: How Do Road Traffic Noise and Residential Greenness Correlate with Noise Annoyance and Long-Term Stress? Protocol and Pilot Study for a Large Field Survey with a Cross-Sectional Design
How Do Road Traffic Noise and Residential Greenness Correlate with Noise Annoyance and Long-Term Stress? Protocol and Pilot Study for a Large Field Survey with a Cross-Sectional Design Open
Urban areas are continuously growing, and densification is a frequent strategy to limit urban expansion. This generally entails a loss of green spaces (GSs) and an increase in noise pollution, which has negative effects on health. Within t…
View article: The association of road traffic noise with cognition in adolescents: A cohort study in Switzerland
The association of road traffic noise with cognition in adolescents: A cohort study in Switzerland Open
Environmental noise exposure has been shown to affect children's cognition, but the concept of cognition is multifaceted, and studies on associations with noise are still inconclusive and fragmented. We studied cognitive change within one …
View article: Suicide and transportation noise: a prospective cohort study from Switzerland
Suicide and transportation noise: a prospective cohort study from Switzerland Open
Background: Evidence for effects of transportation noise on mental health remains scarce, mainly due to a lack of high quality studies. Meanwhile, psychiatric diseases are among the most prevalent non-communicable diseases worldwide, and s…