En tecknad film skapad av Pennfilm med Per Åhlin, Alicja Björk och Lasse Persson som regissörer. Filmen består av tre historier av Astrid Lindgren med karaktärerna Emil och Ida i Lönneberga. Astrids egen röst används. 

Filmen är producerad av Filmlance International AB och fick 8 miljoner i produktionsstöd från Svenska Filminstitutet. Den distribueras av SF Film och finns tillgänglig på flera plattformar. Första gången var biopremiär 25 december 2013. Den senaste plattformen var visning i SVT med påföljande tid tillgänglig i SVT Play under hösten 2016. Både tecknandet och inspelningen av musiken gjordes på ett äldre traditionellt sätt. D.v.s. alla bildrutor har tecknats för hand. Musiken har spelats in i akustisk studio under Georg Riedels ledning med hjälp musiker och musiktekniker. Till den större delen har musikernas insatser skett tillsammans och utan pålägg. Därefter har musiktekniker och Georg Riedel mixat materialet för filmmediet. 

Georg Riedel - musik

Jon Allan - ljudproducent/ljudtekniker

Filmlance International AB - producent

Pennfilm - teckning av film

SF film - distributör

Discrepancies in loudness (i.e. sensation of audio intensity) has been of great concern within the broadcast community. For television broadcast, disparities in audio levels have been rated the number one cause to annoyance by the audience. Another problem area within the broadcast and music industry is the loudness war. The phenomenon is about the strive to produce audio content to be at least as loud or louder to any other audio content that it can easily be compared with. This mindset, when deciding for audio level treatment, inevitably leads to an increase in loudness over time, and also, as a technical consequence, a decrease of utilized dynamics. The effects of the loudness war is present in both terrestrial radio transmissions as well as in music production and in music distribution platforms.

The two problems, discrepancies in loudness and the loudness war, both emanate from the same source; regulations of audio levels and the design of measurement gear have not been amended to cope with modern production techniques. At the time when the work on this thesis started, the ruling technical recommendations for audio level alignment were based on peak measurement. This measured entity has poor correspondence to loudness. To counter the above described problems, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has developed new recommendations for audio alignment, EBU R 128 and ITU-R BS.1770. The new definitions for loudness measurement constitutes simplified models on the human perception of audio intensity. When using the new recommendations in production, the problems have been shown to diminish.

For an engineer in a live broadcast scenario, measurement equipment also need to be updated in real-time to illustrate a time-variant loudness of the signal. EBU and ITU also has regulated how this type of measurement gear should behave. EBU Tech 3341 and ITU-R BS.1771 define properties for live loudness meters. These recommendations has since the time of publication been implemented in measurement equipment from manufacturers and become available in production facilities.

This thesis investigates the conceptions that have led up to the present recommendations for live loudness meters. It maps out the (at the time) present ways to evaluate the same. Emanating from this knowledge, a new methodology to evaluate loudness meters is proposed that combines qualities from former methods to achieve an alternative balance between ecological validity and control in the experiment design. The methodology includes a procedure to capture data from engineers’ actions and the resulting audio levels from simulated broadcast scenarios. The methodology also incorporates a way to process this type of data into different parameters to be more accessible for interpretation. It presents an approach to model the data, by the use of linear mixed models, to describe different effects in the parameters as the result of the meters’ characteristics. In addition, a review on publications that examine the engineers’ own requests for beneficial qualities in a loudness meter has been condensed and revised into a set of meter criteria that specifically is designed to be applied on the outcome of the mixed models. The outcome of the complete evaluation yields statements on meter quality that are different and complementary to formerly proposed methods for meter evaluation.

The methodology has been applied in two different studies, which also are accounted for in the thesis. The conclusions from these studies has led to an increased understanding of how to design live loudness meters to be satisfactory tools to the engineer. Examples of findings are: the effect of the speed of the meter, as being controlled by one or several time constants, on the readability of the meter and the dispersion in output levels – some tested candidates, with higher speed than the present recommended ones, has been shown to be adequate as tools; the three-second integration time has been shown to generate a smaller dispersion in output levels than the 400 ms integration time; the effect of the gate in BS.1771 on the resulting output levels– the gate generally leading to an increase in output levels. The acquired knowledge may be used to improve the present recommendations for audio level alignment, from EBU and ITU.

Spotify som en strömmande medieaktör har idag en stor roll att spela för hur dagens, framförallt populärmusik, produceras och låter. Med den digitala tekniken, och i synnerhet den strömmande tekniken, underlättas möjligheten till förändring av innehållet i de ljudande filerna. Det går därför att finna många olika ljudande versioner av en och samma inspelning. Olikheterna kan dels bero på att verket har anpassats för olika distributionsformat, men kan också bero på att äldre verk har mastrats om för att få en dynamik och klangbild som motsvarar produktioner i närtid. I detta projekt har en studie, baserad på lyssningstester, genomförts för att utröna på vilket sätt dynamik och klang i musikproduktioner får betydelse för den musikaliska upplevelsen och vidare, hur utbildning och erfarenhet inom musik- eller ljudområdet kan spela roll i ens preferenser för olika versioner av samma inspelning. Ett huvudsyfte med kapitlet är att medvetandegöra lyssnandet för att förstå hur teknik både kan hjälpa och stjälpa möjligheterna till upplevelse av musik samt att öka medvetenheten för de kvaliteter i det musikaliska språket som kan komma att påverkas av de produktionsbeslut som berör dynamik och klang. 

A method is proposed for evaluating audio meters in terms of how the engineer acts with the fader as dependent on the meter and corresponding recommendation at hand. The proposed method is used to evaluate different meter implementations, three conforming to the recommendation EBU R 128 and one conforming to EBU Tech 3205-E. In an experiment, engineers participated in a simulated live broadcast show and the resulting fader movements were recorded. The movements were analyzed in terms of different characteristics: Mean fader level, Fader variability and Fader movement. Significant effects were found showing that engineers do act differently depending on the meter and recommendation at hand. The method was found useful and may complement other methods to give more perspectives when evaluating audio meters

Qualities of loudness meters were investigated by running a simulated live broadcast show, mixed by subjects with different degrees of audio engineering experience. The subject-induced fader movements and the resulting output levels were analyzed using a general linear mixed model and then interpreted according to a proposed set of quality criteria for live loudness meters. The results show that, for subparts of the program. meters with slower integration lime caused less dispersion of the resulting output levels and a smaller error to a given target level. The varying integration tunes of the meters did not cause any significant differences in reaction time. It is concluded that this type of data may be used in evaluation of loudness meters and the specific study provides insight into the effect of time scales and meter implementation for EBU R 128-compliant meters.

As a response to discrepancies in loudness levels in broadcast, the recommendations of the International Telecommunication Union and the European Broadcasting Union state that audio levels should be regulated based on loudness measurement. These recommendations differ regarding the definition of meter ballistics for live loudness meters, and this paper seeks to identify possible additional information, needed to attain a higher conformity between the recommendations. This work suggests that the qualities we seek in a live loudness meter could be more differentiated for different time scales (i.e. Momentary and Short-term that is defined by two different integration times), and therefore also should be evaluated by different evaluation criteria.

The EBU recommendation R 128 regarding loudness normalization, is now generally accepted and countries in Europe are adopting the new recommendation. There is now need to know more about how and when to use the different meter modes, Momentary and Short term, proposed in R 128, as well as to understand how different implementations of R 128 in audio level meters affect the engineers' actions. A method is tentatively proposed for evaluating the performance of audio level meters in live broadcasts. The method was used to evaluate different meter implementations, three of them conforming to the recommendation from EBU, R 128. In an experiment, engineers adjusted audio levels in a simulated live broadcast show and the resulting fader movements were recorded. The movements were parameterized into "Fader movement", "Adjustment time", "Overshoot", etc. Results show that the proposed parameters produced significant differences caused by the meters and that the experience of the engineer operating the fader is a significant factor.

Different ballistic definitions for the momentary time scale used in live loudness measurement were evaluated. Definitions from the ITU and EBU were compared as well as a faster version of the ITU version, two asymmetric time scales and the deprecated ballistics, defined in EBU Tech 3205-E, for peak program meters. The goal was to identify the ballistics definition that would function as the best complementary tool to a short-term time scale. Engineers within the broadcast industry and students in audio technology performed an audio alignment task in a simulated live broadcast environment using one ballistics definition per trial. Fader movements and output levels were recorded. After each trial, a set of assessment scales were rated by the subjects. Some results were: a decay time constant of 250 ms yielded better representation of the low-level parts of the dynamics in the signal compared to a 400-ms time constant; the present ITU version of the momentary time scale yielded an estimated less eye fatigue; effects on the resulting output levels, related the gate in ITU-R BS.1770 in conjunction with live compensation of unadjusted audio material were shown.

The vast loudness span of broadcast sound can be reduced by the use of loudness meters. In an ideal case, the measured and the perceived loudness would be equal. A loudness meter fulfilling the EBU R-128 recommendation was investigated for its correspondence with perceived loudness. Several sound stimuli with large loudness differences representing five different types of broadcast program material were normalized to have equal meter measured loudness level. Subjects listened to pairwise presentations of the normalized stimuli, which they subsequently set to have equal perceived loudness. The settings were recorded and analyzed. The results show that the normalization yields both equal as well as different perceived loudness between program types. The maximum difference was ±2.8 dB.

The acoustics of a concert hall is an integral and significant part of a musical performance as it affects the artistic decisions made by performer. Still, there are few systematic studies on the phenomenon. In this paper the effect of concert hall acoustics, mainly reverberation, on musical tempo for a selection of different genres and ensemble types is analyzed quantitatively. The study utilizes audio recordings made in a concert hall equipped with a movable ceiling enabling a variable volume and thus a variable reverberation time. The results show that there are cases where the tempo follows a change in acoustics as well as cases where it remains more or less unchanged.

The increased use of audio applications capable of conveying enhanced spatial quality puts focus on how such a quality should be evaluated. Different approaches to evaluation of perceived quality are briefly discussed and a new technique is introduced. In a series of experiment, attributes were elicited from subjects, tested and subsequently used for derivation of evaluation scales that were feasible for subjective evaluation of the spatial quality of certain multichannel stimuli. The findings of these experiments led to the development of a novel method for evaluation of spatial audio in surround sound systems. Parts of the method were subsequently implemented in the OPAQUE software prototype designed to facilitate the elicitation process. The prototype was successfully tested in a pilot experiment. The experiments show that attribute scales derived from subjects' personal constructs are functional for evaluation of perceived spatial audio quality. Finally, conclusions on the importance of spatial quality evaluation of new applications are made.

The increased use of audio applications capable of conveying enhanced spatial quality puts focus on how such a quality should be evaluated. Different approaches to evaluation of perceived quality are briefly discussed and a new technique is introduced. In a series of experiment, attributes were elicited from subjects, tested and subsequently used for derivation of evaluation scales that were feasible for subjective evaluation of the spatial quality of certain multichannel stimuli. The findings of these experiments led to the development of a novel method for evaluation of spatial audio in surround sound systems. Parts of the method were subsequently implemented in the OPAQUE software prototype designed to facilitate the elicitation process. The prototype was successfully tested in a pilot experiment. The experiments show that attribute scales derived from subjects' personal constructs are functional for evaluation of perceived spatial audio quality. Finally, conclusions on the importance of spatial quality evaluation of new applications are made.

The evaluation of different aspects of audio quality can be realised by means of attribute scales. Studies have shown that the attributes selected are of great importance for the evaluation result. Consequently, the process whereby these attributes are generated has to be given careful consideration. It was previously shown that elements from the repertory grid technique facilitated the elicitation and grading of quality attributes, which resulted in a new audio quality evaluation method. The result from this work has now been implemented as a software prototype aimed to support listening tests. This paper reports on the results from a pilot experiment involving the OPAQUE software

Audio quality evaluation can be accomplished by means of attribute scales and selection of the attributes is of great importance for the evaluation result. Hence, the process generating these attributes has to be given careful consideration. Previous research has shown that elements from the repertory grid technique facilitated the elicitation and grading of quality attributes. To simplify such an attribute generation process, a software-aided solution was utilised. The software was tested in an experiment where listeners considered differently processed audio samples. The results show that attributes relevant for describing the quality differences of the audio samples were generated.

The aim of this thesis is to elaborate a method for the evaluation of perceived spatial quality in surround systems with emphasis on how to find and validate relevant attribute scales originating from verbal elicitation of personal constructs. The main question raised in this work was: Could a method utilising elicited personal constructs be used for finding a set of attributes with sufficient common meaning, thus enabling a group of experienced listeners to make significant judgements of spatial quality in surround sound systems? To investigate this, a method comprising a number of steps was employed. Initially, an elicitation experiment employing elements of the Repertory Grid Technique was performed. In the experiment, verbal data in the form of personal constructs were elicited from experienced listeners considering sounds reproduced through loudspeakers. Each listener rated the sounds on his/her personal constructs. The ratings and the constructs were structured by means of multivariate techniques and Verbal Protocol Analysis to find principal structures in the data set. These structures were examined for their meaning and they were subsequently used for deriving attributes on which scales were defined. The scales were verified in a validation experiment where a new group of experienced listeners considered a number of sound stimuli, which were rated on the attribute scales. The ratings were analysed for statistically significant differences between the stimuli. A new experiment was performed using a 5-channel surround sound system, on a new set of stimuli, in which refined attributes from the previous experiment supplemented by attributes from a new elicitation were utilised. The results showed that Personal constructs could be elicited from listeners in the context of reproduced audio A common perceptual pattern existed, expressed as attributes A list of attributes could be successfully derived Attribute scales derived from personal constructs enabled a group of listeners to make statistically significant judgements of spatial quality on reproduced sounds. It is concluded that a method utilising elicited personal constructs can be used for finding a set of attributes with sufficient common meaning, thus enabling a group of experienced listeners to make significant judgements of spatial quality in surround sound systems.

In spatial audio, the term envelopment is not unambiguously defined and the different de facto definitions both overlap and contradict one another. This unclarity may pose a problem where the sensation of being surrounded by sound is subject for investigation and analysis. This paper reviews the different concepts of envelopment in order to point to where possible problems may occur. A tentative suggestion for a terminology that can serve the different contexts of enveloping sounds is also given.

This study will examine two important factors for the conception Auditory Streaming defined by Bregman, pitch and localization. By removing one or two of these factors as possible identifiers to separate sound sources, the importance of each of them and the effect of reducing both of them will be studied. Stimuli with combinations of two-syllable words will be presented simultaneously in speakers to subjects and the number of correct identifications will be measured. In one category of stimuli speech melody will be removed and replaced with a monotonous pitch, equal for all words. One category will have all words presented from one speaker only. A significant effect was found for pitch as a factor for successful segregation of words. Conclusions will be related to earlier studies and common theories, the Cocktail party effect among others.

The perceived audio quality of a digital broadcasting system such as DAB+ is dependent on what type of coding and bit rates are applied. Due to bandwidth constraints, audio quality is prone to be in conflict with other service demands such as the number of channels and the transfer of ancillary data. Compared to DAB+, several other audio services have superior bit rates that challenge the audio quality of DAB+. This paper reviews audio-quality criteria and investigates how the perceived audio quality of different broadcasting systems complies with the criteria. Two studies were conducted: Test 1 where DAB+ codecs were tested at bit rates between 96 and 192 kbit/s and Test 2 where DAB+ systems between 48 and 192 kbit/s as well as FM systems were tested. The systems in Test 2 were designed to as far as possible model a realistic broadcasting signal chain including commonly used dynamic processors. The studies were realized through two listening experiments using the ITU-R recommendations BS.1116 and BS.1534 (MUSHRA) followed by a closing interview. The results showed that the currently highest available subchannel bit rate for DAB+ (192 kbit/s) was insufficient for attaining perceptually transparent quality for critical items, whereas it enabled a quality comparable to or in some instances better than a modern FM system. Extrapolation of data indicates that critical items may need to be coded at even higher bit rates to reach perceptually transparent quality. From the interviews, auditory features important for the subjects’ assessment of quality were observed. This study concludes that when making decisions on broadcasting systems, it is important to have well-founded and clearly defined criteria for minimum acceptable quality and/or perceptually transparent quality.

In sound recording, an important dimension is the perceived distance to the sound sources. This study investigates if there is a difference between sound engineers and musicians when they consider the perceived distance to sound sources recorded in a concert hall and reproduced by means of a two-channel stereo system. Also which distance is preferred is investigated for different instruments. The result shows that sound engineers perceive a greater distance to sources and that they prefer more close microphone distance than musicians.

The research on the perceived depth in a sound image mainly concerns the distance to the source. Observations on the three-dimensional environment, is generally of an anecdotal nature. In order to enhance the perceived spatial quality of reproduced sound, it is important to know more about how depth in recordings is perceived and generated. The aim of this study is to put focus on the concept of depth, i.e. define what sound engineers mean by depth in recordings. This has been studied through interviews with sound engineers. The most common thought is that depth is equal to the distance to the sound sources. This definition is still not enough to encompass the whole concept of depth. The experienced environment in front of the listener may also affect the perceived depth.

A successful performance of live music is dependent on how well musicians can hear themselves and the other members of the ensemble. Sound reinforcement systems can offer monitoring either by on-stage loudspeakers or in-ear headphones. These two monitoring conditions were compared to search for perceived auditory differences that affect parts of musical performance. Four jazz/pop/rock bands made live performances where monitor sound was provided to the musicians. Each band repeated their performance, changing from one monitoring condition to the other. After every performance, the musicians responded to questionnaires covering musical performance and audio quality. Experts also assessed recordings of the performances. Results show that perceived differences exist in audio quality and musical performance between loudspeaker monitors and in-ear headphone monitors.

Concert hall acoustics is an important factor that influences musical performance. Different acoustics lead to different musical results. For a musical performer, the artistic impression of a performance is paramount. Therefore, it is essential to study the relation between concert hall acoustics and musical performance. Such studies might also be relevant for architects and acousticians. A pilot study was devised, enabled by a unique concert hall with mechanically variable acoustics. A musician played the grand piano at four trials, each having a distinctive acoustic condition. The trials were recorded for later analysis. The performances were assessed by experts and the pianist himself. The results show that clear as well as subtle differences in interpretation and performance between the trials existed.

Audio quality is of concern up and down the production chain from content creation to distribution. The technologies employed at each step - equipment, processors like codecs, downmix algorithms and loudspeakers - all are scrutinized for their impact. The now well-established field of audio quality research has developed robust methods for assessments. To form a basis for this work, research has investigated how perceptual dimensions are formed and expressed. The literature includes numerous sonic attributes that may be used to evaluate audio quality. All together, these findings have provided benchmarks and guidelines for improving audio technology, setting standards in the manufacture of sound and recording equipment, and furthering the design of reproduction systems and spaces. They are, however, by comparison rarely used to inform recording and mixing practice. In this paper quality evaluation and mixing practice are compared on selected counts and observations are made on what points these fields may mutually inform one another.

In concert hall acoustics, the perceived spatial impression and/or spaciousness are characterized by the two attributesapparent source width (ASW) and listener envelopment (LEV). For LEV there are no clear consensus across theresults of previous work. This paper aims to discuss the research performed on LEV and how these research resultsare confirming or contradicting each other. There is a consensus on the arrival angle of the later sound energy and itsinfluence on LEV, whereas there is no clear agreement on the delay time and frequency content of the latereflections.

In an experiment, inspired by aspects of the Repertory Grid Technique, to find the dimensions forming the perceived spatial impression of a sound reproducing system, subjects frequently described their experiences as being either natural or artificial. These results are analyzed using multivariate methods to investigate the correlation between attributes relating to naturalness and other more descriptive attributes.

When assessing the spatial performance of sound reproducing systems, various research methods from the fields of psychology and the behavioural sciences may be considered. Selected approaches are briefly reviewed, with particular emphasis on the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT). Further analysis of a pilot experiment relating to spatial parameters, inspired by RGT, is described

The evaluation of the perceived spatial quality of an audio system has become more important as the technical possibilities to render spatial information increase. In recent years the field of spatial quality evaluation has been the subject of more thorough investigations than previously, one of the problems being the development of attribute scales appropriate for this purpose. The generation of attributes of spatial audio by means of elements from the repertory grid technique is investigated. In an experiment personal constructs in the form of verbal descriptors were elicited. The constructs were classified by verbal protocol analysis and reduced to a limited number of attributes by cluster analysis. The results show that the repertory grid technique enables a number of attributes of spatial sound quality to be extracted from a group of subjects and that these attributes correspond well with attributes found in other studies. The results also indicate the importance of a definition of the part-the whole or a subset-of the auditory scene to which a specific attribute is referring.

When assessing the spatial performance of a sound reproducing system, knowledge of the dimensions forming the perceived spatial impression is important. In this search, methods from the behavioral sciences have to be considered. This paper describes an analysis of an earlier experiment, inspired by aspects of the Repertory Grid Technique, which focuses on finding common patterns among a group of subjects.

In the search for suitable ways to assess the spatial performance of sound reproducing systems, various research methods from the fields of psychology and the behavioral sciences may be considered. Selected approaches are reviewed, with a particular emphasis on the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT). A pilot experiment relating to spatial parameters, inspired by RGT, is described.

The evaluation of perceived spatial quality calls for a method that is sensitive for changes in the constituent dimensions of that quality. In order to devise a method accounting for these changes, several processes have to be performed. This paper shows the development of scales by elicitation and structuring of verbal data, followed by validation of the resulting attribute scales.

Assessment of the spatial quality of reproduced sound is becoming more important as the number of techniques and systems affecting such quality increases. The presence of dimensions forming spatial quality has been indicated in earlier experiments by using attributes as descriptors for the dimensions. These attributes have been found relevant for describing the spatial quality of stimuli subjected to different modes of reproduction. In this paper, new attributes are elicited and the applicability of these and previously encountered attributes for assessment of spatial quality is tested in the context of new stimuli, recorded by means of 5-channel microphone techniques and reproduced through a 5.0 system.

Traditional implementations of sound and music in interactive contexts have their limitations. One way to overcome these and to expand the possibilities of music is to handle the music in a parameterised form. To better understand the properties of the musical parameters resulting from parameterisation, two experiments were carried out. The first experiment investigated selected parameters' capability to change the music; the second experiment examined how the parameters can contribute to express emotions. From these experiments, it is concluded that users without musical training perform differently from musicians on some of the parameters. There is also a clear association between the parameters and the expressed basic emotions. The paper is concluded with observations on how parameterisation might be used in interactive applications.

A fundamental aspect of music is its ability to express emotions. To develop and extend the potential of music in computer entertainment, a deeper understanding of music's emotional aspects is essential. An experiment was designed to explore the suitability of a specially designed interface (REMUPP) as a means to investigate how musical parameters can contribute to expressing the emotions of 'happiness' and 'sadness'. In the experiment, a number of subjects listened to music examples where the musical performance was governed by a set of musical parameters that were controlled by the subject. The subjects adjusted the parameter settings to best express a given emotion. These settings were recorded and analyzed. The experiment verifies the REMUPP tool as a valid means for the investigation of musical parameters and emotion. Issues of importance for realization of music in the computer entertainment context are also addressed.

Traditional implementations of sound and music in interactive contexts have their limitations. One way to overcome these and to expand the possibilities of music is to handle the music in a parameterised form. To better understand the properties of the musical parameters resulting from parameterisation, two experiments were carried out. The first experiment investigated selected parameters' capability to change the music; the second experiment examined how the parameters can contribute to express emotions. From these experiments, it is concluded that users without musical training perform differently from musicians on some of the parameters. There is also a clear association between the parameters and the expressed basic emotions. The paper is concluded with observations on how parameterisation might be used in interactive applications.

This research seeks to explore the concept of voice design, specifically voice design for non-human characters that do not communicate using words. The idea was to mimic the vocal contours of human non-verbal vocal expression with a synthesizer to achieve emotional clarity, as well as make it sound less like a machine and more like a fleshed-out character. The background investigates how humans can communicate emotions with non-verbal vocal expressions along with principles for sound design for Human-Robot interaction and methods for voice design/processing in film.  This to build an idea on how to proceed when designing a non-verbal character voice. A listening test was conducted where participants would rate valence and energy levels in emotional utterances made by humans and emotional utterances that had been created using a synthesizer. As well as provide insight on what type of character could be creating the sounds made with the synthesizer. The results suggest that although the synthesized sounds lacked emotional clarity, they were still enough to give the participants an idea of a character.

Within the academic field of audio technology, which is the context of this thesis, research questions related to various forms of perceptual audio evaluation of different types of audio systems are important and commonly encountered. Methods for systematic evaluations of listeners’ perceived audio quality, based on different experimental designs, have evolved over a time span of several decades and are collectively referred to as listening tests. Typically, some 20 to 30 subjects take part as listeners in such studies, where the task for the subjects normally involves listening to a number of different audio stimuli that have been processed by the audio systems under study. The assessment of the perceived audio quality can be made in several ways, and can for example aim for a ranking of the systems under study or ask subjects to grade them on one or several scales.The selection of which audio stimuli to include in a listening test is of great importance and can greatly effect the results. This is well known from the literature, but it is also known that such selection normally is both time-consuming and labour-intensive and can be difficult to conduct in a systematic way. However, publications on systematic selection procedures are rare. International listening test recommendations call for the use of so called critical audio stimuli, with only a very brief further explication that critical stimuli are such stimuli that stress the systems under test to reveal differences among them.In this thesis, custom made software was developed to enable experimental listening studies to find out if a group of listeners could discern different audio stimuli using the notion critical. The objective of the experiments was to investigate if a group of listeners that were asked to rank a set of audio stimuli according to their criticality would produce any significant differences between the median rankings of the different audio stimuli. The specific ranking method used was ranking-by-elimination. Two experiments were performed – one using a randomized complete block design (RCBD), and one using a balanced incomplete block design (BIBD). The results indicated a valid and meaningful use of the notion critical in listening test contexts, and that stimuli could be rank ordered according to their degree of being more or less critical. As a basis for a software-assisted method of selecting critical audio stimuli for listening tests, such a resulting rank order constitutes an important contribution to a systematic strategy for the selection process.The developed software is planned to be made public in the future, to encourage and promote the use of open-source software in audio research as a basis for better control of software audio quality in demanding experimental contexts such as listening tests.

When developing audio applications, different choices on software implementation aspects influence the total audio software signal path and can be of importance from an audio quality perspective. The field is not well documented in the literature. A study was carried out aiming at identifying relevant questions that must be considered. The general development perspective was on audio software written in C++ to be run on general purpose CPUs. A research review, comprising literature from different fields such as audio engineering, computer science and software engineering, was conducted to summarize and integrate an overview of the field. The result can be viewed as a map of questions for future research activities, consisting of further literature studies and experiments with software prototypes.

The process of selecting critical audio stimuli for listening tests is known from the literature to be both labor-intensive and time-consuming, and has been described as more of art than science. Explicit accounts of systematic procedures are not the most commonly encountered. In a previous study a ranking-by-elimination method was investigated, resulting in a rank order that could be used as a guide for critical stimuli selection. This paper presents a further exploratory analysis of data on the subjects’ listening durations, both as a function of number of stimuli left on screen and individually per stimulus. A strong negative correlation was found between the rank order of criticality and playing duration.

Two listening test methods in common use for the subjective assessment of audio quality are the ITU-R recommendations BS.1116-1 for small impairments and BS.1534-1 (MUSHRA) for intermediate quality. They stipulate the usage of only critical audio stimuli (BS.1116-1) to reveal differences among systems under test, or critical audio stimuli which represents typical audio material in a specific application context (MUSHRA). A poor selection of stimuli can cause experimental insensitivity and introduce bias, leading to inconclusive results. At the same time this selection process is time-consuming and labour-intensive, and is difficult to conduct in a systematic way. This paper reviews and discusses the selection of audio stimuli in listening test-related studies.

Delaktighet är ett frekvent begrepp i dagens förskoleverksamhet och barns rätt till delaktighet finns tydligt beskrivet i de styrdokument (SFS 2010:800, kap 1 § 8.; Skolverket, 2018) som förskolans verksamhet vilar på och enligt artikel 12 i Barnkonventionen (UNICEF Sverige, 2018) har barn rätt att göra sin röst hörd. Vidare betonas att verksamheten ska ta hänsyn till och utformas utifrån alla barns förutsättningar och behov. Åberg & Lenz Taguchi (2005) beskriver att det är en komplex uppgift för personalen i förskolan att forma en verksamhet som erbjuder alla barn möjlighet till delaktighet utifrån deras egna förutsättningar och behov. Utifrån detta började vi fundera över hur förskollärare arbetar för att göra alla barn delaktiga och hur verksamheten utformas för att täcka alla barns olika behov. Syftet med vår studie är att undersöka hur förskollärare beskriver att de skapar möjlighet till delaktighet för alla barn utifrån deras olika förutsättningar och behov. Vi har genomfört en kvalitativ studie och med studiens forskningsfrågor som utgångspunkt har vi intervjuat tre förskollärare om hur de ser på delaktighet, hur de arbetar för att göra alla barn delaktiga i verksamhetens aktiviteter och om de använder sig av pedagogiska hjälpmedel för att öka möjligheten till delaktighet utifrån barnens egna förutsättningar. Studiens resultat analyserades med hjälp av Szönyi och Söderqvist Dunkers delaktighetsmodell (2018) och Shiers femstegsmodell för delaktighet för att se om aspekterna för delaktighet uppnås i verksamheten. Förskollärarna belyser vikten av att alla barn ska vara delaktiga utifrån sina villkor och förklarar vidare att de använder sig av barnens intressen i utformningen av verksamheten. Samtliga förskollärare ger förslag på olika pedagogiska hjälpmedel de använder sig av för att öka möjligheten för barnen att vara delaktiga, och användandet av Tecken som alternativ kommunikation, TAKK, är genomgående i verksamheten hos alla de intervjuade förskollärarna. Vi såg i vår studie ett engagemang hos förskollärarna för att kunna erbjuda barnen möjlighet till delaktighet utifrån sina egna förutsättningar och verksamheten utformas och anpassas för att på bästa sätt fungera för alla barn oavsett behov. 

In soundscape research, the field's methods can be employed in combination with approaches involving sound quality attributes in order to create a deeper understanding of sound images and soundscapes and how these may be described and designed. The integration of four methods are outlined, two from the soundscape domain and two from the sound engineering domain.

The changed landscape of media, with digital distribution as a keyfactor, creates new conditions for people’s access to cultural expressions. This has mainly been studied through technical and financial perspectives, focusing on the record industry, file sharing, human–technology interaction, and click frequency. New questionsare necessary for an understanding of what functions streamed musicand art expressions can have in people’s lives, and how companies such as Spotify relate to these functions.The aim of the study is to explore Bildung in the nexus of streaming services, art and users, with Spotify as a case study. Research questions: How and to what extent do technical, legal, economic, and ethical factors control possibilities for meaningmaking in the interaction between streaming media such as Spotify, arts, and human beings? How does the quality of art/music distributed through streaming influence opportunites for Bildung? How do users make meaning in the specific contexts? To what extent is the user involved in her own Bildung via the algorithms making up the participation?

To achieve this aim and address the research questions an interdisciplinary study is needed, which makes it possible to understand the complex phenomena of a streaming media platform in relation to Bildung. Technicians and researchers from the humanities and social sciences will approach the research problem and form a holistic understanding of streaming media in relation to human beings, art, and technology. Hence, combinations of methodological approaches are required. Big-data analysis will provide access to how varied demographics use Spotify. The Spotify users’ activities, experiences of streaming media interactions, and meaning-making will be accessed through qualitative netnographical observations, shadowing, and interviews. Sound quality analysis will clarify what aesthetic values are involved in the most appreciated listening experiences, which will be related to Bildung.

This paper explores the potential of shifting from providing services to producing experiences in emerging tourism destinations such as the Barents and the Adriatic Sea Regions. It is based on a theoretical reflection and personal experiences of service and hospitality in these areas.It explores the progression of offerings in the experience economy as a means for destination development. In the light of three main ways of product development for experience offerings, the “soft” dimensions of hospitality and hostmanship will be discussed, and how the experience economy can transform unique selling points to experiential value promises.

This is the story about an innovative dream of an Ice Dome Concert Hall made completely of snow and ice. During two winters it was realized in Piteå, northern Sweden. An ice artist’s dream and desire to produce great art soon met the reality of cultural projects and the accompanying slow bureaucracy of financing and project planning. As a result, the artist took his world unique idea abroad and Sweden lost a great cultural attraction. This chapter illustrates the problem of how creative and innovative ideas cannot always be transformed into local and regional development projects.