Environmental Noise Effects on Students of Oregon State University Research Paper

Executive summary

Noise pollution is one of the problems affecting students in the learning institutions. In view of this, this research proposal is meant to undertake a study on how noise pollution affects students of Oregon State University. It will seek to examine the effects of noise or sound on the academic activities and the general health of the students. Five hundred students, university staff members and neighboring community members will be used in the whole process of the study. An experiment will be conducted in which sound meter will be used to measure the level of sound that the respondents will be expected to involuntarily respond to. The nature of responses will be recorded with varying intensity of sound and according to the sex of the participants. Questionnaires will also be used to collect certain information from the respondents after the experiments are complete. Some data will also be collected from the doctors working at the students’ health unit; the data will be used to support the findings of the research study on how environmental noise pollution affects health of students. The data collected from both the experiments and questionnaires will then be downloaded and fed into computer system respectively for analysis by data analysis experts. The outcome will be interpreted and presented for appropriate consumption with primary focus on using it to sensitize students of Oregon State University on the effects noise has on their academic work and health. The research process will involve 20 research assistants, five research professionals and four data analysis experts.

Introduction

The purpose of this research is to find out how noise pollution affects the health and learning of the students at Oregon State University. It will be examining the major sources of noise pollution in the university and how it affects the behavior of the students. The research is also meant to confirm the previous researches that have been done and seal the gap that has been left but in the context of learning environment. The main problem of concern is that noise pollution is a fact within the university; but it seems the effects it has on learning and health have been ignored by the university fraternity. Their have a number of researches done concerning various activities within the university. Notably, these researches have not addressed the issues of noise pollution which have great impact on individual students’ learning activities and health.

The scope of the research is limited to studying the various effects that environmental noise pollution has on students of Oregon State University. Even though its main findings can be generalized any other population, they will be limited to Oregon State University and the surrounding neighborhood. It will draw respondents from amongst the students, lecturers, subordinate staff and community members working or living in the neighborhood. The scope of the research will also involve conducting sound experiments using sound sensitivity meter with varying number of decibels. The research will be done at intervals of 45 minutes for a period of eight hours a day. The research will last for two months. During this period, questionnaires will also be issued to the five hundred participants to provide information that will later be analyzed and report generated from them.

The research proposal is organized into various sections. Each section deals will different aspects of the research to be undertaken; the sections are arranged in the form of literature review which gives details of what have been done in the research area in the past, the objective of the research which offers the goals and mission of the research, methods to be used in the research and the description of the whole projects which includes objectives of the research, methodology and evaluation of the research data.

Literature Review

Noise pollution is an energy pollutant whereby exasperating, harmful and or distracting sounds are freely perceptible. Noise pollution constitutes a series of waves that cause interference with similar waves that occur naturally in the same environment (Wang et al 420). Even though several researches have been done on this subject, it is important to point out that there is no clear boundary as to what extend a sound or noise may become a pollutant. Research shows that different people have different perception on what level of noise is pollutant (Blonna 68). This is based on the premise that a given decibel may be considered as good by certain individuals while others may perceive it as polluting. However, there is a level of decibel that evidently courses destruction of physical structures and damaging to anybody’s eardrums or hearing quality.

In its widest term, a sound may be regarded as a noise pollutant if it interferes with all forms of natural courses of action and or when it actually causes harm to human beings and animals. In this case, it is still considered as noise pollution even if its tendency of occurrence is not on regular bases. Noise pollution can occur either naturally or artificially. Natural noise pollution has been found to occur in various environments. These environments include the oceans and seas where source of noise include squeaks, snapping of shrimps, clicks and groans of dolphins and sea whales and some times sporadic earthquake rambles. The artificial sources of noise pollution are vehicles, planes, shouting loudly and construction activities.

Available information from researches that have already been done indicates that exposure to certain levels of sound has some varied consequences on the functioning of human beings. It has been revealed that exposure a sound of about 90 decibels or more is likely to be associated with reduction in an individual’s efficiency at work (Scott 49). Even though this is certainly true, questions of its impact on health has been an ongoing debate. On one hand it is questioned whether its impact on health arise from regular exposure to high sound or noise or not, and on the other hand it is argued that the issue of health is subjective which implies it is a concept based on an individual’s beliefs. Available literature shows that some cultures may consider an individual sick if such an individual actually feels sick himself or herself. In certain circumstances sicknesses may be revealed by a professional medical practitioner even if the individual has not declared of such feelings in person; the perception of sickness may also arise due third party’s judgments (Scott 50).

The perception of sound as noise varies from culture to culture or individual to individual. An individual may find a sound objectionable in certain circumstances merely because he or she comes from a culture that has the same view. Ideally, in such a scenario, what constitutes noise pollution is subjective rather than looking at it objectively with respect to how it affects health and regular activities. Within this same context, research has proven that a sound that one may interpret as noise may not be interpreted in a similar way by another person. This implies that the perception of a sound as a noise is greatly dependent on the individual hearing or listening to it. Moreover, certain literature posits that the link between noise and health is vague. Such findings argue that in certain circumstances sound or noise may have health effects. Such circumstances are regular exposure to certain varied sound intensities. However, the findings hypothesizes that those whose health are affected by sound are those easily annoyed by sounds (Halpern 43). Some literature also argue that only those who are aware of the sound or noise exposure have their health affected or possibly none of the discussed individuals could have their health affected by sound or noise (Halpern 44).

The study of noise and its effects started during the period of industrialization activities which involved the discoveries and use of power driven machineries. In that case, the studies that were done related to hearing impairments, fatigue, nervous strains and other effects it might have on individuals’ occupational performance. The increased use of power driven machineries had certain health effects suspected to emanate from increased use such machineries (Edlin and Golanty 543). That implied the possible negative consequences of noise on the health of the workers could not be ignored. This means that the problems caused by noise are not new even to the current information age. It is important to note, at this point, that with growing technology the role of noise on health is gradually changing. Around 1920, research studies started finding out the link that exists between human reactions and sound decibels; however, such studies never provided any causal clarification but provided statistical correlation between the two. Even though the research findings has some elements of everyday’s experience some similar studies have revealed that there are cases in point where soft or low sounds have been judged as exasperating and conversely, there are circumstance where hard or loud sounds have become tolerable (Clements-Croome 139).

In his risk society theory, Ulrich Beck creates a link between noise and risk society. He argues that increased effects of noise may be construed as part of the process of transition from an industrial society to a risk society. The implication of his arguments is that the problems associated with noise pollution are due to the advent of risk society in which the sense of distribution of wealth is surpassed by sense of risk distribution. In his interpretation of the meaning of this, he states that the logic of “I want to fly” is overshadowed by that of “I do not need noise”. Beck further argues that the consequences of noise are due to the fact that the current systems have failed to mitigate the levels of noise produced. Nonetheless, other researches have proven beck’s arguments wrong. Beck’s literature have been found to naturalize the presence of noise in the context of risk society where he says individuals are driven by fear of risks rather than the benefits that come from such risks (Baldock et al. 600).

Noise has been found by credible researchers to have non-auditory effects otherwise referred to as physiological effects. Experiments that have been done with this regard have indicated that sudden unanticipated bursts of precipitate or stable-state noise has the ability to trigger somatic reactions both human beings and animals. Such reactions may include gastrointestinal mobility, cardiovascular disease, increased pulse rate and volume (Waldbott 289). The research has also indicated that with sustained exposure to noise, so long as the noise implies no harmful ecological conditions or does not have any auditory interference, human beings and most probably some animals will gradually stop to indicate excitement responses to such noise. Other researches have proven that noise that goes beyond estimated 110 decibels are able to result into both permanent and temporal changes in the extent of the visual field, however, for this to happen there should be several years of exposure. This implies that the effects take place gradually over along period of time. Moreover, noise that goes beyond 130 decibels has been found, through research, to result into dizziness and speedy instinctive vacillation of the eyeballs.

Noise polluted environment interferes with the normal process of understanding spoken speeches and presents problems with concentration, fatigue, frustration, lack of self assurance, disorder in interpersonal relationship and misapprehension. In fact it has been found that noise is one of the sources of stress, but stress causes loss of memory capacity in a given situation. Constant stress can have damaging effects on the brain’s hippocampus which is charged with the responsibility of creating learning memory; the loss of memory ability is caused by corticosteroid, a group of steroid hormones produced by adrenal gland whenever there is stress. Persistent noise pollution has also been known cause sleep interferences; researchers have noted that persistent lack of sleep due to noise pollution may lead to swing in mood and reductions in performance. For a noise to be said to disturb sleep, research scientists have argued that it should be above 30 decibels. They further argue that the likelihood of being awaken by discontinuous noise increase with the quantity of noise events in each knight. Research on current effects of noise pollution has found out that the young people are loosing their hearing ability faster than the old or the aged. This is explained by the fact that young people like listening loud musical sounds during entertainments. This is coupled with using headphones and earphones to listen to loud music. The trend diminishes as one grows old; this implies that it is easier for young people to experience hearing problems than old people since old people tend to dislike loud music contrary to young ones.

Research also indicate that children, especially girls, exposed to noise they have no control over tend to become less encouraged from the sense that they are always helpless and have the inability to control noise environment. Women have been found to react differently to loud sounds. Studies show that women have lower threshold than men to feeling of noise being as stress. While women may be easily terrified by sudden noise, men have been found to be troubled instead. These indications show that it is easier for women to experience health effects of noise pollution than men. Mostly likely, women respond to sudden sounds by scream and possible flight while men simply get surprised and their response may be aggressive.

Several studies have suggested that noise pollution can cause interference with students’ learning with specific reference to reading speech acquisition, memory, motivation and language. The most important area where students face challenges during the process of learning is through critical listening. Due to this, students always show some negative character traits against education. The learning process in lecture theatres are affected by various environmental factors which only validate the fact that noise pollution is amongst the factors that interfere with learning process. The research study also claim that there are many consequences arising from the interference of noise pollution besides comprehension during class activities. Such consequences may be immediate or emerge later during a student’s career (Meihofer 100).

Problem Statement

Within the Oregon State University there are many forms of noise pollution. Some are within the control of the students and other stakeholders operating within the university environment. Sources of noise in the university include motor vehicles, aircrafts flying over the university compound; some are sounds are contributed by the students themselves. There are lots of researches that have been done on noise pollution which have actually offered an insight to this research, however, these previous research are not exhaustive in the context of Oregon State University. Considering the physical location of the university and the surrounding neighborhood, it has become necessary to study noise pollution within this environment. It is believed that noise has some bad effects on the learning of the students. The students need a learning environment that is free from any form of distraction and ensures an effective learning. To ensure this it is appropriate to find solutions through empirical research that will offer proper direction on what way to come up with appropriate interventions. It is important to emphasize that studies have been conducted on effects of noise pollution but none has been exhaustive on its specific impact on students and learning. in a learning environment, listening and interpersonal communication are the most important things, the lecturers use a type of teaching concepts in which communication between the lecturers and their students are very crucial, but this cannot take place in an environment that where such communication is made impossible or almost impossible. And like any other human being, the healths of students are also subject of adverse effects of noise pollution. All other effects of noise pollution on any population also impact on students alike. Considering these as the main problem of the study, the research question is, “What are the effects of noise pollution on the learning process and health of the students of Oregon State University?”

Objectives of the Research

The importance of this research study is placed on the enhancement of learning product of the students of Oregon Sate University. Therefore, its deepest concern will be on students’ ability to attain their highest academic achievements which is hampered by unsustainable communication between them and the lecturer rising due to varied obstacles such as noise pollution within the learning environment. In view of these, the main objectives of the research on noise pollution are set as follows:

1. To find out whether the students of Oregon State University are being affected by noise pollution;
2. To establish the health and academic effects of noise pollution on students;
3. To find out the amount of noise in decibels that particular individual student considers as noise pollution.
4. To find out whether students have been diagnosed with noise related health complications

Methodology

The methodology that will be used during the research study process will adopt the mode of triangulation. Several techniques of collecting data will be used. One of them will be the application of direct observation where researcher will use different decibels of sounds to experimentally examine how students react both physically and psychologically. After the experiment, as designed questionnaire will be used to collect information from the students on how they perceive noise in terms of environmental pollution and its effects on their academics and health. Another technique of data collection will involve administration of questionnaires to the respondents and finally, the use of direct interview will applied in getting data from the doctors working in the students’ health unit.

The noise level will be gauged with the aid of Cirrus sound meter to measure the level of noise. The model of the Cirrus that will be used is CR: 710B. This sound meter is very sensitive to noise pressure that ranges from 20 to 20000hatz. The noise levels will be regulated by microphone adaptor. The variance of sensitivity of the noise meter ranges from 30 decibels to 100 decibels; this will be used for high sounds. The accuracy margins for the sound pressure will be set at positive and or negative 3 (±3). For low noise measurements, the range of sensitivity of the noise meter will be place at a range of 60 decibels and 130 decibels. The measurements for both high and low sounds will be taken at a distance range of 1 ½ to 3 meters on the region where increasing sounds levels will be expected to emanate from. Monitoring of the whole process will be undertaken within a height of 1 ½ meters and one meter away from the storage place of the sound meter over thirty locations for 45 minutes at an interval of 30 seconds.

Before actual experiment it will be important to conduct qualitative assessment on induced noise effects from the students. Prior approval will be sought from the students to ensure they freely accept to participate in the experimental study. Five hundred students, staff, and neighboring community members are expected to voluntarily participate in the study and also fill the questionnaire forms that will be later provided by the researchers for careful filling. The questions that will be answered in the questionnaires are:

1. What is your sex?
2. What is the level of sound that you consider distractive in terms of decibels?
3. What level of sound, in decibels, do you consider tolerable to you?
4. Is your culture tolerant to certain loudness of sound? If “yes” estimate in decibels.
5. If “yes” in 4 above, does this guide your perception of what constitute intolerable and un-intolerable sound levels?
6. How does noise pollution affect you in class and academic activities?
7. Has noise pollution affected your health in any way?
8. Have you be told by a doctor to avoid certain levels of sound or noise? If “yes” explain.
9. Does noise affect you psychologically? If “yes” then state how.
10. How often do you get disturbed by noise pollution?
11. Have your neighbors complained that you are making too much noise for them? If “yes” explain under what circumstance(s) and also how you responded to their complaints.

The student health center will also be a subject of research on its own. The doctors at the center will be requested to furnish the researchers with information regarding how frequent they encounter cases of health effects of noise pollution on students. They will also be asked to voluntarily provide the researchers with statistics on such cases.

Analysis of the Data

The analysis of data will be the last stage in the research process. After the whole experiment, the noise data will be fed into a Personal Computer for analysis. The noise levels will be recorded in an electronic gadget too. The main reason to record the noise is to play it in replicated environment in the process of conducting the experiment. The information that will be provided in the questionnaires will also be coded by research assistants and entered into the computer system. After data entry into the computer, research analysts will performs the necessary analysis using SPSS data analysis software, do the interpretation and compile a report. The report will then be used to sensitize students on the dangers of noise pollution, how to avoid and or how to prevent its effects. The report will also be availed to other potential researchers and the community at large to utilize its findings for the benefits of both the students and the neighboring community members.

Evaluation of the Research Outcome

The evaluation of the research outcome will be done on different basis. The noise from the noise meter will be produced suddenly then the reactions of both men and women will be monitored differently and recorded under different sub-headings. This will be repeated 6 times at 30 minutes intervals without letting the respondents to be privy of the interval, within the intervals, different decibels of sounds will used on an increasing basis upto a maximum of 130 decibels. Through the use of questionnaires, the respondents will be required to provide information on what effects, in terms of health, cognition and academics, noise pollution has had on them. They will also be required to provide information of their perception of what constitute noise pollution and what level noise is appropriate. The analysis will be done in terms of age so that the study to examine whether age is a factor in perceiving a certain level of noise as pollution inappropriate. The statistics of students’ health problems arising from noise pollution will be analyzed independently and used to support the overall outcome of research study on the part of health effects. The findings will be presented in charts and graphs for easy interpretation.

Research Time Schedule

Personnel and Resource

The research team will be constituted by twenty research assistants drawn from other universities to avoid subjectivity in the research process, five senior research professionals and four data analysis experts. Other resources to be used in the process include five laptop computers, four desktop computers, stationeries and transport to from the operation center to Oregon State University and back. All of the computers will be obtained from a volunteer organization that has accepted to lend them out for the purposes of this research study. After the whole process, the computers will be returned back to the donor organization.

Research budget

Limitation of the Study

The research sample involved is very large considering the time the respondents will be available for the research process. The research will be conducted at time when some of the respondents will be required to attend lectures. This has the potential of making some selected respondents to fail to turn up for the experiments and filling in of the questionnaires. There is also the possibility that some of the prepared questionnaires will not be filled due to failure to turn up without prior notice by the already selected respondents. Another limitation is likely to be experienced with the availability of sufficient funds to carry out the study. These are likely to compromise on the quality of the outcome of the research process hence leading to inaccurate interpretations and applications during students’ sensitization on the effects of environmental noise pollution. There are health complications that are brought about noise pollution but can also be caused by other factors. For instance, excessive exposure has been found to have the potential of causing cardiovascular disease; however, the disease can also be caused by other factors like stress amongst others. In this case, it will be difficult to tell whether such cases are as a result of noise pollution or other causative factors.

Delimitation

The study period will be designed in a way that participants being dealt with in a given day not have classes on that particular day. The respondents will also be allowed to choose the days on which they are comfortable to participate in the research process. I believe if a number of participants will be absent without due notice, it will not be significant enough to affect the results at the end of the study process. Should it be impossible to work with the five hundred respondents due to time constraints, then, the number will be cut down to an appropriate level. Funds will be requested from sponsors. If the amount availed or donated is still insufficient, the budget cost of the research will be revised critically and appropriately. Where necessary the number of researchers may also be sliced down depending on the possible amount that will be required for expenditures on their involvement in conducting the experiment and administering the questionnaires. The information from health unit will be treated as subordinate to the main study.

Conclusion

The research study that will be carried out will be focusing on how noise pollution affects the general learning and health of the students of Oregon State University. Several researches have been conducted on environmental noise pollution and its effects on the normal functioning of human beings and other animals. Most of these researches have not exhaustively studied the effects of noise in a studying environment especially in the areas within and around Oregon State University. The design of this study will ensure that as much information as possible on how noise pollution affects Oregon State University students is obtained. The research will undertake to do an experiment using sound with varied decibels and the response of the subjects will be monitored and recorded. The importance of the sound experiments is to find out how individuals, especially students, react to sudden sound and to certain level of sound measured in decibels. The analysis will interpreted on the basis of what level of decibels most students react negatively to. This will be generalized with students and used in sensitizing them on the effects of sound pollution. It will also assist the university administration to come up with policies on what amount of noise should is tolerable within the university environment.

The research will also involve the administration of questionnaires to be filled by the respondents. In this case the importance of the questionnaire will be to collect information on the perception of the students on levels of sounds, in terms of decibels, that they personally consider intolerable. The information analyzed from these questionnaires will also be used to sensitize students on the environmental effects of noise pollution. Since the respondents will include people working with and outside, learning in the university, the university administration will be able to know the reality of the stakeholders’ perception on the kinds of noise and sounds that are being experienced within the university and the neighborhood. The general outcome of the research will also help the university administration to be more concerned and critically analyze the sources of noise or sounds that are mostly considered to be distractive within the university compound and the neighborhood.

The particular importance of this research is that it will help in finding solutions to noise problems that seem to be interfering with student learning and health and also any other person linked to the university environment and its surrounding. Since noise has the same effects anywhere and almost to everybody, the research will be representative enough and can be used as a case study to be generalized with all other institutions of learning. Since it will be exhaustive on learning environment, other universities and colleges can also apply it to their students learning and health situation. This will mean that the research will be a breakthrough on how environmental noise pollution affects both learning and health of students. When appropriately implemented, the clinics will register reduced health cases related to noise pollution within the university and college environments. Students will also be able to experienced concentration, less distractions and also realize increased academic performance. There will also be increased efficiency and effectiveness in communication between the students and the lecturers and amongst the students themselves during learning and group discussion process.

The information obtained from the student health unit will be used as supportive empirical evidence on the effects of noise pollution on the health of the students. Due to this, the data collected from the health unit will be treated independently and used to clarify findings of the whole study. Another importance of this research is that it can be used as a platform on which a similar research can be conducted. It can be reviewed as literature and the gaps it has left can be identified and sealed through conducting another research study in future. The report generated can also be used in the curriculum as study materials during environmental learning processes.

Works Cited

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Edlin, Gordon and Golanty, Eric. Health and Wellness. London: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2009.

Halpern, David. Mental health and the built environment: More than bricks and mortar? New York: Taylor & Francis, 1995.

Meihofer, Susan. The student and the learning environment. New York: National Education Association, 1974.

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Wang, Lawrence. et al. “Air and noise pollution control.” Volume 1 of Handbook of environmental engineering, Norman C. Pereira. New York: Humana Press, 1979.