Presenter(s): Wilson Mathieu − Anthropology
Faculty Mentor(s): Laurie Woodward, Renee Delgado-Riley
Poster 136
Research Area: Social Science
The Erb Memorial Union is a vital part of the University of Oregon’s vision to create a vibrant community of scholars. As the heart of campus and one of the top places that first-year students identified as feeling they belong (based on information gathered in the College Transition Project), this study aims to explore and understand how people (students, staff, faculty, community members, etc.) use the spaces within the EMU via post-occupancy evaluation and investigation. This study employed behavioral observations conducted from February 10th, 2018 through March 2nd, 2018 in four pre-identified areas of the building: Student Street, O Lounge, Taylor Lounge, and Fishbowl. Observations we conducted in two hours shifts from 8am until 10pm on weekdays, and 10am until 10pm on weekends (adjusting for altered weekend operational hours), with 2-minute focal data collected. Observers monitored for four main activities (working, playing, socializing, sleeping) and six sub-activities (reading, on phone, computer, eating, drinking, other). A total head count of the area and level of loudness was recorded every 30-mintues. The information gathered in this study will be used to ensure that students are being supported in how they would like the building to be used, to evaluate building performance following recent renovation and expansion, and for future projects.