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Developing the technique of Acoustic travel time TOMography (ATOM) for monitoring the indoor air temperature and airflow measurements represents a significant breakthrough for modern buildings especially those prioritizing thermal comfort. While conventional measurement methods are limited to individual measuring points, ATOM technique can measure the climatic parameters' distribution across the entire room with high spatial resolution utilizing sound velocity measurements along various propagation sound paths. This research outlines the ongoing development of the ATOM technique for simultaneous measuring the indoor air temperature and airflow velocity at the Department of Building Physics at the Bauhaus‐University Weimar. It presents both the challenges confronted and the solutions developed in establishing a straightforward measuring system that can optimally fulfil the requirements of the indoor climate projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some of the problems faced by the Rom (Gypsies) in the United States include stereotyped images, attitudes, and cultural traits that are considered quite different from those that are commonly accepted in American society. Research on this group is especially difficult to conduct. (Author/EB)

In 2013 wurde ein neuer Entwurf eines kompletten Normenwerkes zur DIN 4109 „Schallschutz im Hochbau“ mit 4 Teilen - „Anforderungen“, „Berechnungsverfahren“, „Bauteilkatalog“ und „bauakustische Prüfungen“ herausgegeben. Er enthält einige Erhöhungen der Anforderungen an den Luft- und Trittschallschutz im Vergleich zur DIN 4109:1989. Die Erhöhungen beruhen auf in den letzten Jahren regelmäßig festzustellenden Qualitäten aus überwachten Gebäuden mit Regelbauweisen. Wesentliche Neuerungen enthält auch der Teil 2 „Rechnerische Nachweise der Erfüllung der Anforderungen“. Hier wird eine detaillierte rechnerische Betrachtung aller Übertragungswege unter Berücksichtigung der speziellen Stoßstellendämm-Maße vorgenommen. Für eine Mauerwerkswand wird dargelegt, welche Rechenwerte für das bewertete Schalldämm-Maß R'w,R sich bei unterschiedlichen Ausbildungen der Stoßstellen ergeben. Im Vergleich zu den Rechenwerten nach DIN 4109:1989 ergeben sich Unterschiede von bis zu 10 dB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses some of the scholarly or otherwise important literature about Rom or gypsies. Characteristics of Rom in the U.S.; Historical origin of Rom.

At the present time there is no way to accurately determine the number of Rom living in the United States. Estimates range from 250.00 to in excess of one million. But such numbers are really unimportant. If there were only one hundred Rom in America their educational needs would be the same. And if, as a people, they should disappear from the earth altogether, their history, language and culture would still be worthy of careful and sympathetic study. It is ironic that an enormous literature has been produced about the Rom - going back more than a hundred years - and that most of it is Romantic nonsense. From time to time one can see through the romanticism, if one knows what to look for, and see some of the handful of truths that can tell the informed reader something about the culture and the people. But it takes a well-trained and sophisticated reader, indeed. Jan Yoors' memoir (1967) of his pre-World War II life with the Rom is probably the first of the new wave of literature which attempts to treat the Rom as a people, rather than as the players in a bad movie. Yoors' book is far from satisfactory in many ways, but it is a beginning. More recently, Anne Sutherland (1975) and others (Acton, 1974; Kenrick and Puxon, 1972) have attempted to apply the rules of scientific and careful research to Rom studies with some success. There is much to be done, however. The serious student of Rom language and culture will need to spend a great deal of time in the journals of law, medicine and sociology, as well as with the people, if any clear picture is to emerge. The problem of scholarship will be returned to later in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]