Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sound Bubbles for Productive Office Work

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Nordic Contributions in IS Research (SCIS 2016)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 259))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 615 Accesses

Abstract

A growing number of organizations are moving towards more open and collaborative workplaces. In these offices workers share a common open space, often with flexible seating based on activities, so called activity-based offices. Most problems in these workplaces are related to sound. Thus, the question of how to design suitable acoustic environments, supporting both collaborative and individual work, has emerged. Noise-reduction approaches do not suffice. In this study we explored the possibility of adding context-sensitive, activity-based sound environments to enhance the office workplace. For this purpose, we developed the “sound bubble,” a prototype for individual work, sonically immersing the listener and generating a sensation of an encapsulating sonic environment. A total of 43 test subjects participated in an experience-based test using the sound bubble prototype while conducting self-selected, ordinary work tasks in their office landscape. Their behaviors during the test were observed and documented. All participants took a post-experience questionnaire about experiences working in the sound bubble, and two subjects were interviewed. The responses show that the sound bubble can enhance auditory work conditions for individual work that demands concentration.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Jahncke, H.: Cognitive performance and restoration in open-plan office noise. Doctoral thesis/Luleå University of Technology, Luleå (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Bengtsson, J.: Low frequency noise during work—effects on performance and annoyance. Doctoral thesis, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Nassiri, P., Monazam, M., Fouladi Dehaghi, B., et al.: The effect of noise on human performance: a clinical trial. Int. J. Occup. Environ. Med. 4, 87–95 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Sjödin, F., Kjellberg, A., Knutsson, A., Landström, U., Lindberg, L.: Noise exposure and auditory effects on preschool personnel. Noise Health 14(57), 72–82 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Seddigh, A., Berntsson, E., Bodin Danielsson, C., Westerlund, H.: Concentration requirements modify the effects of office type on health and productivity. J. Environ. Psychol. 38, 167–174 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Hellström, B.: Om Kontorslandskapens Akustik & Arkitektur - vad örat hör men ögat inte ser. Arkus, Stockholm (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Hellström, B., Johansson, B., Zalyaletdinov, P.: Redesign of one atmosphere–what do you want to hear? In: Creating an Atmosphere, Grenoble, France, 10–12 September 2008

    Google Scholar 

  8. Västfjäll, D.: Influences of current mood and noise sensitivity on judgments of noise annoyance. J. Psychol. Interdisc. Appl. 136, 357–370 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Kjellberg, A., Landström, U., Tesarz, M., Söderberg, L., Åkerlund, E.: The effects of non-physical noise characteristics, ongoing task and noise sensitivity on annoyance and distraction due to noise at work. J. Environ. Psychol. 16, 123–136 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Eriksson, M.L., Pareto, L.: Designing Activity-Based and Context-Sensitive Ambient Sound Environments in Open-Plan Offices, vol. 6, no. 7 (2015). http://aisel.aisnet.org/iris2015/7

  11. Wang, F., Hannafin, M.J.: Design-based research and technology-enhanced learning environments. Educ. Technol. Res. Dev. 53(4), 5–23 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Hellström, B.: Theories and methods adaptable to acoustic and architectural design of railway stations. In: Twelfth International Congress on Sound and Vibration, Lisbon, pp. 11–14 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Reybrouck, M.: Musical sense-making and the concept of affordance: an ecosemiotic and experiential approach. Biosemiotics 5(3), 391–409 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Beyer, H., Holzblatt, K.: Contextual Design: Defining Customer-Centered Systems. Morgan Kauffman, San Francisco (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Hermann, T., Andy, H.: The Sonification Handbook. Logos Verlag, Berlin (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Zimmerman, J., Forlizzi, J., Evenson, S.: Research through design as a method for interaction design research in HCI. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 493–502. ACM, April 2007

    Google Scholar 

  17. Chion, M.: Guide des objets sonores. Buchet/Chastel, Paris (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Gaver, W.W.: What in the world do we hear? An ecological approach to auditory event perception. Ecol. Psychol. 5(1), 1–29 (1993)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  19. Windsor, W.L., de Bézenac, C.: Music and affordances. Musicae scientiae (2012). doi:1029864911435734

    Google Scholar 

  20. Krueger, J.W.: Affordances and the musically extended mind. Front. Psychol. 4, 1003 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Sridharan, D., Levitin, D.J., Chafe, C.H., Berger, J., Menon, V.: Neural dynamics of event segmentation in music: converging evidence for dissociable ventral and dorsal networks. Neuron 55, 521–532 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Gibson, J.: The theory of affordances. In: Shaw, R., Bransford, J. (eds.) Perceiving, Acting and Knowing: Toward an Ecological Psychology, pp. 67–82. Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale (1977)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Gibson, J.: The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Schlittmeier, S.J., Hellbrück, J.: Background music as noise abatement in open-plan offices: a laboratory study on performance effects and subjective preferences. Appl. Cogn. Psychol. 23(5), 684–697 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Smith, S.E., Stephan, K.L., Parker, S.P.: Auditory warnings in the military cockpit: a preliminary evaluation of potential sound types (No. DSTO-TR-1615). Defence Science and Technology Organisation Edinburgh (Australia) Air Operations Div. (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Augoyard, J.-F.: Sonic Experience. A Guide to Everyday Sounds. McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Venetjoki, N., Kaarlela-Tuomaala, A., Keskinen, E., Hongisto, V.: The effect of speech and speech intelligibility on task performance. Ergonomics 49(11), 1068–1091 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Media and Design, University West, 461 32, Trollhättan, Sweden

    Martin Ljungdahl Eriksson & Lena Pareto

Authors
  1. Martin Ljungdahl Eriksson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lena Pareto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin Ljungdahl Eriksson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics and IT, Hogskolan Vast, Uddevalla, Sweden

    Ulrika Lundh Snis

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this paper

Cite this paper

Eriksson, M.L., Pareto, L. (2016). Sound Bubbles for Productive Office Work. In: Lundh Snis, U. (eds) Nordic Contributions in IS Research. SCIS 2016. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 259. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43597-8_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation