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Spatial arrangement of hospital environments has been proven to have impacts on hospital users such as wayfinding, privacy and operational efficiency. Many studies examined the spatial quality of hospitals, but there is a lack of comparative research between Chinese and Australian hospitals. Hospitals in both countries have salient features that are worth to learn and can inform hospital stakeholders internationally on design decisions. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and compare the spatial quality of hospitals from both countries using space syntax approach and field observation.

This study uses space syntax analysis and observation to provide qualitative and quantitative data. Illustrative case studies from both countries are selected for comparison. The main benchmarks involved in measuring the spatial qualities, such as step depth and visual connectivity, are analysed using Depthmap X before comparing with the results from observation.

For Chinese hospitals to be more human-centred, public space design and facility management need additional attention. Australian hospitals could learn from Hospital D on how to design highly centralised nursing stations that cope with a high patient flow. Global policy and decision-makers should consider the potential inconsistency between initial design intention and practical use.

Practical implications were made based on the results for bettering hospital environments. It is hoped that the methodology presented in this research is of significance to the enhancement of global healthcare environment research.

The University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Libraries has set aside space and stocked it with treadmill desks, standing desks, cycling desks and balance chairs to encourage physical activity while using library space to promote active learning. The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of this innovative space on library users through a study conducted by a research team using observations and short surveys to gather information about usage trends and user perceptions of this “active learning space.”

This study used both ethnographish observation and self-selected survey. Researcher observation notes were used to gather usage rates of the space and equipment in the space, and survey responses were coded for themes to identify user perceptions around the space.

The findings strongly suggest that users find mental and physical health value in the “active learning space” and many would find value in the expansion and improvement of the space.

The limitations of this study include a shorter observation period compared to the survey collection period and limited demographic collection to shorten the survey instrument.

However, this study was able to assess how an active learning space in an academic library can influence and have a significant impact on student success.

This study examines the activities of a specialized service desk and provides guidance on conducting an analysis of the activities. The authors wanted to know what is essential in terms of expertise, staffing, technology, collections and space at a Maps and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Service desk. The purpose of the study was to explore whether the provision of these services require a staffed service desk.

The authors collected data using mixed methods, including observing space use, administering a survey and analyzing desk interactions.

Findings suggest that while this service desk may have relatively little traffic, the interactions are time consuming and require a high degree of subject expertise. The data indicated that this service does not need to be delivered in this specific location; however, retaining the expertise and access to collections is vital. The authors recommend that formal assessment of services and space should be conducted prior to making significant changes in a service model.

This study investigates a specialized service desk which are not well-represented in the literature. Additionally, the variety of approaches used in this study could serve as a model for others for service desk assessment in general.

Sustainability is regarded as a core value that the coworking movement aspires to. However, most sustainability efforts focus on the providers’ perspective while neglecting the coworking members’ role. Therefore, this paper aims to explore sustainable coworking from the members perspective by focusing on sustainable behaviors.

This study uses a flexible pattern matching approach. Theoretical patterns are identified using literature on coworking space and sustainable behavior while matching them with the empirical data. Data were collected from three different coworking spaces in Sweden through interviews and observations.

Based on the theoretical patterns, three constructs for sustainable coworking were identified, namely, productive behavior, prosocial behavior and responsible space sharing behavior. Through the empirical data, the constructs were further concretized to understand their different aspects. The findings uncovered a new layer of complexity where members can show the same behavior and be perceived differently.

This study offers a more holistic understanding of sustainable coworking by highlighting the members’ role and identifying different member perceptions on sustainable coworking behaviors.

This paper provides a methodological map for guiding the choice and application of research paradigms and design frames that can be of value to a wide range of researchers in the fields of education, social sciences and interdisciplinary studies who are interested in teaching and learning in context. Following an interpretivist/constructivist paradigm, I used a mixed methods research approach to study the spatial experiences of Emirati female students in a gender--‐ segregated educational context. The main component was qualitative, using ethnography, while the quantitative part included a survey. In such a research approach, my reflexivity and unique positionality as both insider and outsider played a significant role. The paper is divided into three sections: the beginning, which justifies the choice and philosophies of the methodological route; the journey, which illustrates the data collection techniques; and the destination, containing reflexive lessons from the field.

The US Government is challenged to maintain pace as the world’s de facto provider of space object cataloging data. Augmenting capabilities with nontraditional sensors present an expeditious and low-cost improvement. However, the large tradespace and unexplored system of systems performance requirements pose a challenge to successful capitalization. This paper aims to better define and assess the utility of augmentation via a multi-disiplinary study.

Hypothetical telescope architectures are modeled and simulated on two separate days, then evaluated against performance measures and constraints using multi-objective optimization in a heuristic algorithm. Decision analysis and Pareto optimality identifies a set of high-performing architectures while preserving decision-maker design flexibility.

Capacity, coverage and maximum time unobserved are recommended as key performance measures. A total of 187 out of 10¹⁷ architectures were identified as top performers. A total of 29% of the sensors considered are found in over 80% of the top architectures. Additional considerations further reduce the tradespace to 19 best choices which collect an average of 49–51 observations per space object with a 595–630 min average maximum time unobserved, providing redundant coverage of the Geosynchronous Orbit belt. This represents a three-fold increase in capacity and coverage and a 2 h (16%) decrease in the maximum time unobserved compared to the baseline government-only architecture as-modeled.

This study validates the utility of an augmented network concept using a physics-based model and modern analytical techniques. It objectively responds to policy mandating cataloging improvements without relying solely on expert-derived point solutions.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the topic of parents who work on a flexible basis and use coworking facilities to find a work–life balance and overcome work–family conflicts.

The author uses a qualitative approach to explore the research questions. The first part of the empirical research undertakes an ethnographical approach in carrying out the unobstructed participant observation within five European coworking spaces targeted at improving comprehension of the spaces’ mediation mechanisms and development of supportive interactions. The second part traverses into conducting unstructured interviews with parents who work on a flexible basis and use a coworking space as their daily workplace.

This research paper reveals that flexible workers who found themselves juggling work tasks and family obligations tend to seek better conditions that assist them in tackling conflictual situations and, in addition, enhance their social lives to create further career opportunities. Coworking spaces are thus perceived as optimal workplaces by working parents in that they can find stability and scale their social networks within. Moreover, the continually evolving user interactions resulting from effective mediation mechanisms let these individuals find emotional support, increase productivity and exchange knowledge.

While the coworking industry is rapidly evolving and the academia is keener on investigating the field, the subcategory of work–life and family care within these collaborative environments is virtually unresearched. This paper provides valuable insight into the topic and serves as a knowledge base for the future exploration of this field.

This paper explores the issue of design intentions versus users' reactions by conducting a post occupancy evaluation study. It introduces an assessment of the performance of Qatar University-QU campus outdoor spaces from users' perspective after it has been used and occupied for over 20 years. The assessment aims at understanding the mutual interaction process between the built environment exemplified by the physical characteristics of campus outdoor spaces and the needs of the university community exemplified by students, faculty, and staff. Therefore, the paper argues for the value of evaluating current campus outdoor spaces from users' perspective. It aims at defining problematic areas related to the utilization of current spaces-that are contrasted with the architect's design philosophy and intentions. The methodology adopted is multi-layered in nature and incorporates a wide variety of assessment techniques; including walk-through evaluation and direct observation, behavioral mapping, and survey questionnaires. The investigation reveals a number of problems that may hinder the performance of different types of QU campus users. The paper concludes that by recognizing how well university campus outdoor spaces respond to the needs of faculty, students, and staff, one can recommend ways of improving the outdoor environment necessary to facilitate the work and learning experiences of different users within the campus and the desired student-faculty interaction.

Many universities are currently investing significant sums of money into refurbishing existing learning spaces and/or building further infrastructure (including Next Generation Learning Spaces (NGLS)) to support learning and teaching in the face-to-face context. While this is usually welcome by staff and students, there is often a concern that designs are not informed by input from appropriate stakeholders.

This chapter brings together information from a range of sources to provide practical ideas and advice on designing robust, whole-of-lifecycle evaluations for learning space projects. By incorporating pre- and post-occupancy stages, involving a wide array of stakeholders and looking beyond surveys and focus groups as evaluation techniques, universities can ensure that future designs take into consideration the experiences and context of staff and students at the institution as well as lessons learned from previous projects.

Using the campus of a Brazilian university as case study, this research aims to identify which aspects of the outdoor spaces are the most significant in attracting people.

This research relies on the application of different post-occupancy evaluation (POE) methods, including user tracking, behavioural mapping and questionnaires, on one plateau of the campus.

Three group of aspects (socialization, proximity and infrastructure) were identified as key elements in explaining the impact of the campus physical characteristics on users’ behaviour. The results indicate that having characteristics of at least one group of aspects in those spaces can guarantee their vitality and, if there is presence of attributes of more than one group, liveliness can be increased.

Further studies should be conducted on an entire campus to identify other spatial elements in the three groups.

This research contributes to the planning of future campuses and to solutions to the existed ones, indicating the most relevant spatial characteristics to be considered. Additionally, the combination of different methods may be useful to future research.

Most of the investigations on the university campuses focus on the buildings, and little research has investigated the outdoor spaces, although they play a critical role in learning and academic life, where people establish social, cultural and personal relationships. In addition, studies using several POE allowed a consistent and complete diagnostic about the aspects of the campus, giving recommendations for future projects.