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Distribution of Resource Use in an Informal Learning Environment: Using Sensor Technologies to Bring Geography Indoors

Indoor spaces have become increasingly prevalent in human lives. While scholarship in other fields has studied the relationship between humans and the indoors, it has not been readily investigated in Geography. This study draws from prior research in Building Design, Managerial Science, and Education to examine the relationship between building users and resources in indoor spaces. To better understand how users seek resources in an indoor, academic space, this research asks: (1) what spaces and resources do building users value?; and (2) how are their perceptions of value associated with observed measures of occupancy? This research takes place in Goodwin Hall, on the Blacksburg campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. This research relies on surveys conducted in 2018 as well accelerometer data collected in 2018 to examine the relationship between users' perception and use of resources in informal learning environments. Through quantitative analysis this research tests the ideal free distribution hypothesis. Findings indicate that certain measures of use and value support the ideal free distribution hypothesis. These results help to lay a groundwork for future geographic research in indoor spaces. / Master of Science / Indoor spaces have become increasingly created, used, and occupied by humans. Geography, as a discipline, has traditionally studied the relationship that humans have with their surrounding outdoor environments. This research studies how humans interact with their indoor environments. Other disciplines, such as Building Design, Managerial Science, and Education have examined how indoor spaces can impact human movement, behavior, and choice. Geography is a spatial discipline (observes how variables affect each other over space) and offers a differing lens to view human-indoor relationships. To better understand how users seek resources in an indoor, academic space, this research asks: (1) what spaces and resources do building users value?; and (2) how are their perceptions of value associated with observed measures of occupancy? This research takes place in Goodwin Hall, on the Blacksburg campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. This research relies on surveys conducted in 2018 as well accelerometer data, which observes the amount of acceleration, collected in 2018 to examine the relationship between how users' view and use resources and spaces within an indoor environment. Through quantitative analysis this research tests the ideal free distribution hypothesis. Findings show that certain measures of use and value support the ideal free distribution hypothesis. Findings from this paper help to provide more insight into how humans interact with indoor spaces and lays the groundwork for future indoor geographic research.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/112014
Date27 September 2022
CreatorsVillarreal, Mark David
ContributorsGeography, Baird, Timothy D., Kniola, David J., Tarazaga, Pablo Alberto
PublisherVirginia Tech
Source SetsVirginia Tech Theses and Dissertation
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
FormatETD, application/pdf
RightsIn Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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