13 HOURS OF SHOPPING: AN ACOUSTIC SURVEY OF SHOPPING CENTERS IN METRO MANILA

13 HOURS OF SHOPPING: 

AN ACOUSTIC SURVEY OF SHOPPING CENTERS IN METRO MANILA

Robin Daniel Z. Rivera

13 April 2004

Sociology 274

Prof. Laura Samson

INTRODUCTION

Metro Manila plays host to a wide variety of retail sales establishments. There are two major large-scale examples of such establishment, these are the Palengke, and the Shopping Mall. The common element of these establishments is that they house several small and independent operated stores under one roof. They also both offer a wide selection of goods from fresh foods to finished dry goods.  On closer inspection however, there exist a number of differences between the two. 

THE PALENGKE

The palengke is the primary destination for buyers of freshly harvested vegetables, meats and fish, hence it is also known as a "wet market". The sections of the palengke that sell these usually have no facilities for storage or refrigeration. Most wet items are delivered to the market early in the morning (between midnight and 4 am) and must be sold as soon as possible to avoid spoilage. The goods are usually delivered unprocessed.  After delivery, the sellers are tasked to process and categorize the goods for display. This involves cutting up livestock into smaller manageable parts and cleaning them,  cleaning and trimming vegetables, and categorizing them for display.  The peak hours of operations for this section of the market is from the time of delivery to mid-morning. This is to ensure the buyer of a chance to select the best from the lot, and enough time to reach home to either commence cooking the fresh items, or store it in home refrigerators. 

Structurally, the palengke usually has a single roof, but few enclosing walls. The wet area also has no dividing partitions between stalls. While water and drainage is provided, the floors and surfaces usually become wet from the water used for cleaning, as well as from the body fluids still part of the fresh livestock. 

The Palengke also has a "dry goods" section that offers processed items such as clothes, household  implements and supplies, grains, and animal feed. Stalls with these items have thin wooden partitions. These stalls usually open later than their wet counterparts. While they can be closed during non-operating hours, they are practically open to full access for both sellers and buyers. 

THE SHOPPING MALL

The shopping mall is a fairly recent, late 20th century incarnation in the Philippine retail industry. It evolved as a combination of other enclosed dry-good stores such as the grocery, the variety store, and the department store. 

The present-day shopping mall is a completely enclosed structure with centralized air conditioning, centralized security systems, refrigerated and non-refrigerated storage, and parking facilities. Like the palengke, it boasts of a wide range of products and services. But unlike the palengke, it has come to focus more on the synergy between 1) processed dry-goods such as brand name clothes and personal items, 2) cooked food, and 3) entertainment facilities such as movie theaters and game arcades. There are three main types of retail areas depending on the level of isolation. First, there are "communal" areas that the buyers are free to roam. Lobbies, corridors, and general eating areas (specially in "food courts") are examples. There are also some stalls and displays that have minimum isolation and that occupy designated parts of lobbies. But these  are usually transient, and are allowed for only a week or two depending on a thematic schedule. The third type is the fixed store. Most fixed stores are not only insulated from one other, but the entrance and exit of customers from the main lobbies and corridors can be controlled by doors, glass windows, and additional security measures. 

Most Metro Manila malls usually operate between 9am and 12am. There are several peak hours in operations, depending a matrix of variables: 1) regular meal times (when restaurants are full), and 2) movie schedules (which start at 11am and end at 11pm), and 3) standard working hours (since office workers can usually only avail of leisure time outside of the regular 9 to 5 working day). 

OBJECTIVES

In light of the abovementioned nature of the two types of shopping centers, this study will explore another variable in the difference between these two types of shopping centers, the acoustic environment. What is the difference between the two? If so, what are the implications on social interaction inside these establishments?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

In the Philippines, relatively little attention has been given to the study of sound in the environment. Most acoustic surveys have been aimed at controlling the acoustic characteristics of building interiors. Environmental impact studies conducted for DENR environmental compliance typically pay more attention to projected land use and air quality before, during, and after construction. Sound and noise levels are rarely measured, and projections are limited only to the changes occurring during construction. construction. An article of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Salazar, 2003), quotes a recent national study by the University of the Philippines College of Public Health that focused on occupational noise exposure. It cites permissible noise exposure levels set by the Department of Labor and Employment. But the framework and the standards for both the study and the guidelines seem to be based on studies and legislation formulated by western institutions such as the Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S.A. While the study is laudable, it is one of a very few of its kind in the Philippines. Partly because of the lack of research, media coverage pertaining to environmental and occupational noise such as this is few and far between. The dearth of environmental  acoustic surveys (both quantitative and qualitative) in the Philippines has prompted this researcher to take action. This study is one in a series of papers that this author has undertaken to understand the contexts of sound environments and their relationships in Philippine society and culture. Other papers by this author include a survey of Filipino terms for "Noise", soundwalks of Cubao, Quezon City and Batangas City, a review of the philosophical and technological issues contrasting acoustic and computer music instruments, and a seminal paper on flatline sound in shopping malls. This study is therefore important because it aims to stimulate the practice of conducting research on issues pertaining to sound. The results may also be used as baseline data in exploring the relationship of the sound environment with social and cultural interaction.

RELATED LITERATURE

One of the main conceptual "schools" in the field of acoustic methods comes from the World Soundscape Project. Based in the Simon Fraiser University of Vancouver, Canada, the WSP aimed to document and codify "earwitness accounts" of sound environments around the world, and explore the theoretical understanding of listening and acoustic communication. Among its proponents are musicians R. Murray Schafer and Glenn Gould, and interdisciplinary professor Barry Truax. 

One of the pivotal concepts of this school is the "soundscape". This refers to "an environment of sound (or sonic environment) with emphasis on the way it is perceived and understood by an individual or by a society" (Truax 1999). The WSP solidified the interdisciplinary framework of the study for the study of soundscapes by introducing such concepts as soundscape ecology, acoustic communication, and soundscape design. 

Issues pertaining to acoustic research methods in the social sciences are also tangentially related to those of other non-text based methods such as those of  photography, moving pictures, and multimedia. Rob Walker (in Bryman and Burgess 1999, p.279-301) and Paul Henley (in Bryman and Burgess, p. 302-322) decry the relative lack of development and utilization of visual methods (and multimedia)  in qualitative research. Both imply that the use of visual data and presentations has been more associated with the physical sciences than in the social sciences. This is because the use of recording instruments such as cameras and sound recording equipment have been perceived as technological tools that are more suited to the presentation of material data, than the "thinking" tools (such as text) that are the enclave of social scientists. This has been complimented by those in the humanities that have long developed and utilized frameworks and methods to analyze visual and acoustic works and data. 

But while the social sciences have seemingly focused most of its  energies on "forcing ideas into words" (Walker, p. 280), there are still those who have managed to develop methods and strategies that use visual images to account for societies and cultures that have become increasingly visually oriented.  

Banks (2003) mentions four approaches to the use of visual data by social scientists: 1) visual records produced by the researcher, 2) visual records produced by those under study, 3) collaborative representations, and 4) and the examination of pre-existing visual representations.  

DEFINITIONS - The study will make use of several technical terms. All terms are taken from the Handbook of Acoustic Ecology, 2nd edition. CD-ROM version 1.1.

ACOUSTIC HORIZON - “The farthest distance in every direction from which sounds may be heard. Incoming sounds from distant sources define the outer limits over which acoustic communication may normally occur, and thus help to define the perceived geographical relationships between communities. SOUND SIGNALs from one community, for instance, may penetrate others. The importance of their signalling function usually diminishes, but they also act as a reminder of the various ways in which the separate communities are related. In some communities, a change in the perceived acoustic horizon, such as when a certain bell or other distant sound is particularly noticeable, has a predictable meaning as a weather forecast. Since the definition of an acoustic horizon depends on the perception of quiet sounds, it is highly susceptible to change by SOUND INTRUSIONs and other MASKing sounds. These reduce the distance of what can be heard, a characteristic shrinkage that runs parallel to that of the acoustic profile of sound signals with the rising AMBIENT NOISE of communities (see ACOUSTIC SPACE, LO-FI). Acoustic links between communities and parts of communities are now often replaced by ELECTROACOUSTIC and media links.” (Truax 1999,\Html Files\Acoustic_Horizon.html)

AMBIENCE or AMBIANCE - “The background sound of an environment in relation to which all foreground sounds are heard, such as the 'SILENCE' of an empty room, conversation in a restaurant, or the stillness of a forest. Ambience is actually comprised of many small sounds, near and far, which generally are heard as a composite, not individually. Also called ambient noise.” (Truax 1999, \Html Files\Ambience.html)

KEYNOTES - “In SOUNDSCAPE studies, keynote sounds are those which are heard by a particular society continuously or frequently enough to form a background against which other sounds are perceived. Examples might be the sound of the sea for a maritime community or the sound of the internal combustion engine or HUMs in the modern city. Often keynote sounds are not consciously perceived, but they act as conditioning agents in the perception of other SOUND SlGNALs. They have accordingly been likened to the ground in the figure-ground relationship of visual perception. (Truax. 1999. \Html Files\Keynote.html) 

MASK OR MASKING - “The effect one sound has on another by making it harder or impossible to hear. Masking will also occur for a few milliseconds before and after the desired sound, these phenomena being termed forward and backward masking respectively.” (Truax 1999, \Html Files\Mask.html)

NOISE - “Etymologically the word can be traced back to Old French (noyse) and to 11th century Provençal (noysa, nosa, nausa), but its origin is uncertain. It has a variety of meanings and shadings of meaning, the most important of which are the following:

1. Unwanted sound: The Oxford English Dictionary contains references to noise as unwanted SOUND dating back as far as 1225. 

2. Unmusical sound: The 19th century physicist Hermann von Helmholtz employed the term 'noise' to describe sound composed of non-PERIODIC vibrations (e.g. the rustling of leaves), by comparison with musical sounds, which consist of periodic vibrations. Noise is still used in this sense in expressions such as BROAD BAND NOISE, GAUSSIAN NOISE, NARROW BAND NOISE, RANDOM NOISE, RUSTLE NOISE or WHITE NOISE.

3. Any loud sound: In general usage today, noise often refers to particularly loud sounds. In this sense a noise abatement by-law prohibits certain loud sounds or establishes their permissible limits in DECIBELs. See: JET PAUSE, LOUDNESS, NOISE POLLUTION, SOUND INTRUSION, SOUND POLLUTION.

4. Disturbance in any COMMUNICATION system: In electronics and engineering, noise refers to any disturbances which do not represent part of the SIGNAL, such as static on a telephone or 'snow' on a television screen. See: BACKGROUND NOISE, SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO. Compare: REDUNDANCY.

The most satisfactory definition of noise for general use is still 'unwanted sound'. This makes noise a subjective term: one person's music may be another's noise. But it also provides the opportunity for a society to come to a general agreement as to which sounds constitute unwanted intrusions.” (Truax 1999, \Html Files\Noise.html)

SOUNDMARK - “A term derived from 'landmark' used in SOUNDSCAPE studies to refer to a community sound which is unique, or possesses qualities which make it specially regarded or noticed by the people in that community. Soundmarks, therefore, are of cultural and historical significance and merit preservation and protection.” (Truax 1999. \Html Files\Soundmark.html)

SOUNDSCAPE - “An environment of SOUND (or sonic environment) with emphasis on the way it is perceived and understood by the individual, or by a society. It thus depends on the relationship between the individual and any such environment. The term may refer to actual environments, or to abstract constructions such as musical compositions and tape montages, particularly when considered as an artificial environment.” (Truax 1999, \Html Files\Soundscape.html)

STATIONARY SOUND - “A sound or SOUND OBJECT whose AMPLITUDE is relatively unchanging. However, in any natural sound the SPECTRUM is always changing (see diagram under FOURIER ANALYSIS) and there are usually slight fluctuations in amplitude even in what appears to be a steady sound. Mechanical or electrical sounds (e.g. HUMs) are usually examples of stationary sound that are almost completely unchanging. They may be called flatline sounds or DRONEs because of their steadiness. Many similar sound sources, or a single sound source with many components, will combine to produce an aggregate texture that may be called quasi-stationary or quasi-continuous sound. The individual ATTACK and DECAY of the separate components cannot be distinguished, except as fluctuations of the continuous texture. Distant surf and traffic are examples of this type of sound, as shown in the level recordings below.” (Truax 1999, \Html Files\Stationary_Sound.html)

METHOD

The study made use of a "soundwalk". A soundwalk is defined as "A form of active participation in the soundscape. though variations are many, the essential purpose of the soundwalk is to encourage the participant to listen discriminately, and moreover, to make critical judgements about the sounds heard and their contribution to the balance or imbalance of the sonic environment. " (Truax 1999) This method that involves the researcher walking through a particular area and collecting various sounds in that area. It must be stressed that the particular version of the soundwalk used in this study was based primarily on the sound recording. While some data rested on the researcher's sensory experiences during the soundwalk, the primary data set will came from the recording. 

All recordings were conducted on Sunday, 9 February 2003. The complete Nepa-Q recording  started at 5:13 am and ended 5:37am. The complete Podium recording started at 12:17 pm and ended 12:50pm. Finally, the complete SM City North EDSA recording started at 4:35 pm and ended at 5:50pm. The enclosed audio CD contains a continuous excerpt from each of these recordings.

The recordings made use of a Sony MZ-R70 MiniDisc digital audio recorder , and a Radio Shack Ultra-Miniature Tie Clip omni-directional  microphone. The recordings were then copied to a Compact Disc. A minimal amount of editing was employed, but only to eliminate drop-outs which occurred during the recording. The recordings, therefore, are continuous and uninterrupted.  The recording level was the same for all recordings, and no enhancement processing, equalization, nor artificial effects were employed. This researcher occasionally announced his location in the building. 

One of the main limitations in the study was getting permission to conduct the study in  shopping malls. Because of centralized security and corporate competition, independent researchers are often discouraged from conducting data gathering inside mall premises. This researcher formally requested permission from the management of both malls in December, but none replied. In one telephone conversation, an executive assistant in The Podium said a previous request to conduct school-related research was rejected, and the rejection of my request was most probably forthcoming. 

Because of this, the equipment used for the recording had to be conceilable. This affected the choice of microphone. While a larger, more "capable" microphone was preferred, a miniature microphone had to be selected so that it would not arouse suspicion. This compromise resulted in an overall sound that is somewhat lacking in extreme lower frequencies. The rest of the spectrum however is not seriously lacking. So the recordings are still a reasonably representative document of the actual sound in the research areas. 

DISCUSSION 

LO-FI VERSUS HI-FI

The most startling result of this study was in the classification of environments into lo-fi (or low-fidelity) and hi-fi (high-fidelity). Truax defines hi-fi environment as "....one where all sounds may be heard clearly without being crowded or masked by other sounds and noise." (Truax, 1999,  \Html Files\Hi-Fi.html) He defines lo-fi environment as ".... one in which signals are overcrowded, resulting in masking and lack of clarity (Truax 1999,\Html Files\Lo-Fi.html) ."

One popular impression of the  Philippine palengke is that buyers and sellers engage in a  cacophony of bidding and negotiation. But the recordings reveal the opposite, the palengke is actually a hi-fi environment. First of all, human vocal sounds are unusually clear and well defined. One can easily understand the words spoken by the participants. Short and long-range human communication in the heart of this structure are clear and relatively un-masked by keynote sounds. The recording revealed discrete instances of vendors calling from both near and far. The market building has few hard boundaries where sound can reflect. First, the "wet" area of the structure is relatively free of obstructions and boundaries. There are no partitions between stalls, the roof is very high (approximately 30+ meters), and there are no walls separating the internal and external parts of the structure. Reverberation, that can reflect and/or obscure direct sounds, do not prominently contribute to the keynote. 

Second, vendors have evolved a vocal style that can carry over large distances in the palengke without electronic amplification. This voice is relatively high-pitched and nasal,  and is practiced by both males and females. High pitches tend to travel faster and farther than low pitches. So this vocal style ensures that it can be heard clearly, over relatively long distances inside the palengke. 

Third, messages are relatively short and direct to the point. These short messages tend to alternate, thus each can exist in its own space and time within the aural horizon. While some vendors and buyers may occasionally tease and needle each other, the conversations still retain a sense of clarity. Other sounds such as chopping, grinding and splashing occupy other areas of the sound spectrum and do not violently interfere with these voices, again because they are intermittent, and exist in their own time and space. 

Finally, there are few instances of amplified sounds. The "dry goods" section of the palengke is also a hi-fi environment. The thin wooden partitions and the merchandise are soft enough to absorb reflected sound, , so there is even less reverberation. There are more instances of amplified music , but they usually come from small radios and playback systems with limited bandwidth, and are not played very loud. These radios seem to be played for the private entertainment of the vendors, and not to call attention to, or entertain the customers. The vendor's voices are similarly clear and unmasked by the keynote. The palengke is therefore a hi-fi environment because communicative sounds are clear and orderly, and is not profoundly masked by the keynote. 

Less surprising, but equally important, is the revelation that the shopping mall is a textbook example of a lo-fi environment. The structure is completely enclosed, and is surrounded by hard, reflective surfaces that generate a fair amount of short reverberation. Mechanical sounds abound. In the case of the Podium, the airconditioning created a noticeably audible, broad-spectrum keynote. Open display stands for electronic devices are played noticeably louder than in the palengke. At a distance, these sounds lack definition, and form part of the keynote. As one gets closer, clarity is only partly improved, but is negatively affected by reverberation, and by the distortion caused by high playback levels. The environment in SM City is even more lo-fi. There are more electronic devices, and are played even louder than in the Podium. Game arcades are the loudest venue for such devices, with each of the tens of game consoles playing sound at ear-splitting levels. Even short-range voice communication requires one to scream into another person's ear to get heard. While one would expect such loud sounds to have a large acoustic horizon, the high-level keynote of SM City limits the horizon of even the loudest sounds by masking them. 

Another major finding is that there seems to be much less long-range voice communication than in the palengke. The keynote is so loud that one has to shout in order to be heard more than 5 meters away, even less when next to electronic devices. One of the problems in doing so is that shouting creates a commotion that seems unwelcome in this kind of place. It potentially indicates that the person is either hostile, deranged, or self-centered. It could also signal an emergency situation, or criminal activity in progress. The mall privileges mechanical and electronically amplified devices, and perceives such as a sign of profitable activity. Loud human voice communication, on the other hand, is considered a source of disruption or danger. This adds up to a lo-fi environment that  prefers conformity in the form of docile human behavior.  

STIMULATION, RELAXATION, AND TRANSACTION

The acoustic ambience of the three places suggest different ways by which businesses seek to stimulate sales. The place with the highest general noise level was undoubtedly SM City. The sheer number of electronic playback devices, and the ponderous levels that they are set to, belies an attitude in which noise is seen as irresistibly attractive to people. Noise stimulates curiosity and attention. This is the first step in the process of sales. But this only results in an acoustic situation spiraling out of control. As the number of people in the building increase, the keynote level goes up. To be heard above the din, stores use electronic devices to create noise and attention, which adds to the already high keynote level. As more and more devices are turned on, they multiply the level of the keynote.  Eventually, these devices become so loud that the sound becomes stationary. Because the sound becomes stationary, it loses its definition, and its ability to impart clear, detailed information. Truax states the result of continuous, stationary sounds: “The brain’s reactions to repetitive, low information, constant level stimuli is called habituation, and is characterized by a decreased neural firing-rate. In terms of perceived sense of loudness, the process is called adaptation. A constant level of sound is said to “fatigue” the auditory system and produce a decreased level of sensation, for example, the loudness of a constant tone falls off with duration.” (Truax 2000, p. 139) In its attempt to stimulate, the soundscape of SM City ironically ends up numbing the senses. 

The Podium has the lowest general noise level of all three places, but it potentially suffers from the same problems as SM City. The keynote was composed mostly of an ominously mechanical air-conditioning noise. An almost cathedral-like reverberation diffused the air-conditioning noise even further. Two sets of sounds punctuated this keynote. First, there was a home-theater display on the second floor that was playing popular music. While this was not loud, it tended to melt into the keynote even at moderate distance. Then there was a computer controlled piano on the same floor playing easy-listening music. Because it was an acoustic instrument, it created a dynamic sound (as opposed to the relatively stationary home-theater system). But it too lost its detail because of long reverberation times. Also, it was competing with the home-theater system because they were on the same floor. The Podium’s soundscape missed out on being able to transmit meaningful acoustic information because of a general lack of clarity and detail. The aim of the Podium’ s soundscape seems to be the opposite of SM City, and that is to provide a relaxation. But what seems to come through is a general state of confusion, brought about by the swirling reverberant keynote and the general lack of detail from dynamic sounds.  

Among the three, it seems that the Nepa-Q market is the only one that seems to succeed at its objective. A palengke is more of a venue for sales, and not for entertainment. Two types of transactions usually occur in a palengke, first are transactions between vendors and customers. These may be short-range communications when the seller and customer are at arms length from each other, or long range communication wherein the vendor calls out to prospective customers several meters away. The other type of transaction is between vendors who trade goods in the course of serving the demands of customers. This is usually medium to long range communication because their areas are fixed by the location of their stalls. Such transactions demand a soundscape that has clarity. Nepa-Q market building may not be the quietest venue, but it is the clearest in its ability to carry human voice messages. In addition, the vendors have developed the vocal technique required to effectively communicate in this type of structure. In a palengke, transactions precede entertainment, and Nepa-Q market is the ideal venue for such.

CONCLUSION

The palengke and the shopping mall represent opposing extremes in the culture of retail sales. The soundscapes of these places confirm this polarity. The palengke has a long history that stretches back more than a century. In that time, not only has the architecture developed, but people have adapted to create efficient ways of carrying out transactions. In the acoustic sense, the vocal techniques of the typical vendor or “palengkera” has developed out of such adaptation. The modern palengke therefore, is as much a social creation as it is a structural one.

On the other hand, the shopping mall has a much shorter history. But while architecture presumably takes human comfort into consideration, the mall has become an acoustic battleground that often leaves its victims shell-shocked. Communication  has become the main victim of a relentless drive for sales and entertainment. Medium and long distance human communication has fallen prey to distorting sound systems. Short range human communication has necessitated raised voices to counteract the keynote. The final irony is that people are restricted from vocal expression for fear of disruption, while extreme loudness levels from electronic devices proliferate seemingly uncontrolled. 

The public market therefore strikes one as indeed, a “public” creation. It is forged out of interaction and negotiation. On the other hand, the “private” mall privileges its own intent and objectives, and unilaterally imposes its will on the customer via technological infrastructure and devices. This study has shown how clearly these are articulated in the respective soundscapes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books and Articles

Berger, John. Ways Of Seeing. London, England: Penguin Books and The British Broadcasting Corporation, 1972. 

Henley, Paul. "Film Making and Ethnographic Research". In Bryman and Burgess, Qualitative Research vol. 1. London, England: Sage Publications,. 1999. 

Schafer, R. Murray. The New Soundscape. Ontario: Berandol Music Limited, 1969.

Truax, Barry. Acoustic Communication, 2nd edition. Westport, Connecticut: Ablex Publishing, 2001.

Walker, Rob. "Finding a Silent Voice for the Researcher: Using Photographs in Evaluation and Research". In Bryman and Burgess, Qualitative Research vol. 1.London, England: Sage Publications, 1999. 

Electronic Documents:

Banks, Marcus. "Visual Research Methods". Sociology at Surrey, issue 11, (13 january 2003). 

Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Management Bureau. Balancing Business Environment: EIS Systems for Earth-Friendly Projects. CD-ROM. ProProjex Inc., Quezon City, Philippines,  1999. 

Truax, Barry. Handbook of Acoustic Ecology, 2nd edition. CD-ROM version 1.1.  Cambridge Street Publishing, 1999.. 

Salazar, Tessa R. "Noisy Workplace: A Problem No One Hears". inq7.net, 19:05, 10 Jan  2003, .