An Exploration of Study Spaces Among Chinese and Indian Graduate Students

Ibtihaj Alsadun; Kristi Gaines; Michelle Pearson; Lee Duemer; Charles Klein

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13

| Peer-Reviewed

An Exploration of Study Spaces Among Chinese and Indian Graduate Students

Ibtihaj Alsadun, Kristi Gaines, Michelle Pearson, Lee Duemer, Charles Klein

Published in American Journal of Art and Design (Volume 6, Issue 1)

Received: 20 February 2021 Accepted: 4 March 2021 Published: 30 March 2021

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

Over the last 40 years, many environmental design researchers have examined the environment’s impact on people and sought answers to questions on personal feelings with the environment and how people become attached to a place and develop feelings about it. Research in place attachment has primarily focused on the social aspect, leaving a gap in the literature related to concepts of the built environment. The present study seeks to fill this gap by addressing the issue of physical place attachment among specific groups of international graduate students at Texas Tech University, a large public university in West Texas. Previous studies focused on generic and largescale place concepts such as the physical neighborhood ambiance. This study, by contrast, examines how international students from China and India choose and develop an attachment to study spaces around the university. A grounded qualitative research design was selected as the exploratory method of studying how international graduate students select, interact with, and create an attachment to preferred study places on and off-campus. The researcher conducted semi-structured individual and focus group interviews with a purposive sample of 50 Indian and Chinese participants. The results revealed some similarities and differences between Indian and Chinese graduate students in their most and least-preferred physical design and ideal study places. Both groups preferred quietness and natural light. However, Chinese graduate students preferred to study alone, while Indian graduate students felt motivated and supported when studying with others.

Published in	American Journal of Art and Design (Volume 6, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13
Page(s)	13-25
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Study Spaces, Place Attachment, West Texas, Graduate Student, China and India

References

[1]	Abdelmonem, M. 2016. Identifying physical design of connectedness-to-home among depressed elderly in long-term care facilities: An exploratory study (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/ttu-ir/handle/2346/68106.
[2]	Alexander, C., Silverstein, M., Angel, S., Ishikawa, S., & Abrams, D. 1977. A Pattern Language. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
[3]	Boddy, C. R. 2016. Sample size for qualitative research. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 19, 426–432. Doi: 10.1108/QMR-06-2016-0053.
[4]	Case, D. 1996. Contributions of journeys away to the definition of home: An empirical study of a dialectical process. Journal of Environmental Psychology 16, no. 1: 1-15.
[5]	Cunningham, K. R. 2013. The Effect of Motivation on Student Success in a First-Year Experience Course (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY.
[6]	Deci, E. L. 1975. Intrinsic Motivation. New York: Plenum Press.
[7]	Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. 1985. Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. New York, NY: Plenum Press.
[8]	Fisher, J. 2000-2003. Personal Transition Curve concept and content. Fisher & Savage Personal Construct Psychology.
[9]	Gifford, R., Scannell, L., Kormos, C., Smolova, L., Biel, A., Boncu, S. 2009. Temporal pessimism and spatial optimism in environmental assessment: An 18- nation study. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29, 1-12.
[10]	Giuliani, M. V. 2003. Theory of attachment and place attachment. In M. Bonnes, T. Lee, and M. Bonaiuto (Eds.). Psychological theories for environmental issues. Pp., 137-170. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228091197_Theory_of_Attachment_and_Place_Attachment.
[11]	Guba, E. G. 1985. The context of emergent paradigm research. Organizational theory and inquiry: The paradigm revolution, 79-104.
[12]	Hashemnezhad, H., Heidari, A., & Mohammad Hoseini, M. 2013. Sense of Place and Place Attachment. International Journal of Architecture and Urban Development, 3, no. 1, 5-12. http://ijaud.srbiau.ac.ir/pdf_581_a90b5ac919ddc57e6743d8ce32d19741.html.
[13]	Hay, R. 1998. Sense of place in developmental context. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 18, no. 1, 5-29.
[14]	Heft, H. 2010. Affordances and the perception of landscape. Innovative Approaches to Researching Landscape and Health. Pp., 9-32. Oxon: Routledge.
[15]	Heft, H., & Chawla, L. 2006. 12 Children as agents in sustainable development: the ecology of competence. Children and their environments, 199-216.
[16]	Jones, P., Meleis, A., & Schumacher, K. 1999. Helping Elderly Persons in Transition: A Framework for Research and Practice, School of Nursing Departmental Papers, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania.
[17]	Kasarda, J. D., & Janowitz, M. 1974. Community Attachment in Mass Society. American Sociological Review, 39, no. 3, 328. Doi: 10.2307/2094293.
[18]	Kopec, D. 2018. Environmental Psychology for Design (3rd Ed.). New York, NY: Fairchild.
[19]	Korpela, K. M. 1989. Place-identity as a product of environmental self-regulation. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 9, no. 3, 241-256.
[20]	Korpela, K. M., Ylén, M., Tyrväinen, L., & Silvennoinen, H. 2009. Stability of self- reported favorite places and place attachment over a 10-month period. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29, 95-100. Doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2008.05.008.
[21]	Lewicka, M. 2011. Place attachment: How far have we come in the last 40 years? Journal of Environmental Psychology, 31, no. 3, 207-230.
[22]	Li, M. Y. 2012. Place attachment in university students: Social antecedents and academic motivations (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh). Retrieved from http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/6179/1/Manyu_MasterThesis_ETD_5th_revision.pdf.
[23]	Lim, M., & Barton, A. C. 2010. Exploring insideness in urban children’s sense of place. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30, no. 3, 328-337.
[24]	Manzo, L. C., & Devine-Wright, P. (Eds.) 2013. Place Attachment: Advances in Theory, Methods, and Applications. New York, NY: Routledge.
[25]	Moore, L., & Graefe, A. R. 1994. Attachments to recreation settings: The case of rail-trail users. Leisure Sciences, 16, 17–31.
[26]	Morgan, P. 2010. Towards a developmental theory of place attachment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30, 11-22. Doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2009.07.001.
[27]	Newman, O. 1996. Creating defensible space. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
[28]	Oishi, S., Kurtz, J. L., Miao, F. F., Park, J., & Whitchurch, E. 2011. The role of familiarity in daily well-being: Developmental and cultural variation. Developmental Psychology, 47, no. 6, 1750-1756. Doi: 10.1037/a0025305.
[29]	Proshansky, H. M., Fabian, A. K., & Kaminoff, R. 1983. Place-identity: Physical world socialization of the self. Journal of environmental psychology, 3, no. 1, 57-83. Doi: 10.1016/S0272-4944(83)80021-8.
[30]	Relph, E. (1976). Place and Placelessness. London, UK: Pion.
[31]	Sani, F. (2008). Schism in groups: A social psychological account. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2, no. 2, 718-732.
[32]	Scannell, L., & Gifford, R. 2017a. The experienced psychological benefits of place attachment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 51, 256-269. Doi: 10.1016/j.jenp.2017.04.001.
[33]	Scannell, L., & Gifford, R. 2017b. Place attachment enhances psychological need satisfaction. Environment and Behavior, 49, no. 4, 359-389. Doi: 10.1177/0013916516637648.
[34]	Stokols, D., & Shumaker, S. A. 1981. People in places: a transactional view of settings. In J. Harvey (Ed.), Cognition, social behavior, and the environment (pp. 441– 488). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
[35]	Strange, C. C., & Banning, J. H. 2001. Educating by Design: Creating Campus Learning Environments That Work. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
[36]	Terrazas-Carrillo, E. C., Hong, J. Y., & Pace, T. M. 2014. Adjusting to new places: International student adjustment and place attachment. Journal of College Student Development, 55, no. 7, 693-706. doi:10.1353/csd.2014.0070.
[37]	Tuan, F. 1974. Topophilia: A Study of Environmental Perception, Attitudes, and Values. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
[38]	Twigger-Ross, C., Bonaiuto, M., & Breakwell, G. 2003. Identity theories and environmental psychology. Psychological theories for environmental issues. Pp., 203-234.
[39]	Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., Blais, M. R., Briere, N. M., Senecal, C., & Vallieres, F. 1992. The Academic Motivation Scale: A measure of intrinsic, extrinsic, and a motivation in education. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 52, no. 4, 1003-1017. Doi: 10.1177/0013164492052004025.
[40]	Zajonc, R. B. 1968. Attitudinal effects of mere exposure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9, 2, Part, 2, 9-27.

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Ibtihaj Alsadun, Kristi Gaines, Michelle Pearson, Lee Duemer, Charles Klein. (2021). An Exploration of Study Spaces Among Chinese and Indian Graduate Students. American Journal of Art and Design, 6(1), 13-25. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Ibtihaj Alsadun; Kristi Gaines; Michelle Pearson; Lee Duemer; Charles Klein. An Exploration of Study Spaces Among Chinese and Indian Graduate Students. Am. J. Art Des. 2021, 6(1), 13-25. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Ibtihaj Alsadun, Kristi Gaines, Michelle Pearson, Lee Duemer, Charles Klein. An Exploration of Study Spaces Among Chinese and Indian Graduate Students. Am J Art Des. 2021;6(1):13-25. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13,
  author = {Ibtihaj Alsadun and Kristi Gaines and Michelle Pearson and Lee Duemer and Charles Klein},
  title = {An Exploration of Study Spaces Among Chinese and Indian Graduate Students},
  journal = {American Journal of Art and Design},
  volume = {6},
  number = {1},
  pages = {13-25},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajad.20210601.13},
  abstract = {Over the last 40 years, many environmental design researchers have examined the environment’s impact on people and sought answers to questions on personal feelings with the environment and how people become attached to a place and develop feelings about it. Research in place attachment has primarily focused on the social aspect, leaving a gap in the literature related to concepts of the built environment. The present study seeks to fill this gap by addressing the issue of physical place attachment among specific groups of international graduate students at Texas Tech University, a large public university in West Texas. Previous studies focused on generic and largescale place concepts such as the physical neighborhood ambiance. This study, by contrast, examines how international students from China and India choose and develop an attachment to study spaces around the university. A grounded qualitative research design was selected as the exploratory method of studying how international graduate students select, interact with, and create an attachment to preferred study places on and off-campus. The researcher conducted semi-structured individual and focus group interviews with a purposive sample of 50 Indian and Chinese participants. The results revealed some similarities and differences between Indian and Chinese graduate students in their most and least-preferred physical design and ideal study places. Both groups preferred quietness and natural light. However, Chinese graduate students preferred to study alone, while Indian graduate students felt motivated and supported when studying with others.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - An Exploration of Study Spaces Among Chinese and Indian Graduate Students
AU  - Ibtihaj Alsadun
AU  - Kristi Gaines
AU  - Michelle Pearson
AU  - Lee Duemer
AU  - Charles Klein
Y1  - 2021/03/30
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13
T2  - American Journal of Art and Design
JF  - American Journal of Art and Design
JO  - American Journal of Art and Design
SP  - 13
EP  - 25
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-7802
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13
AB  - Over the last 40 years, many environmental design researchers have examined the environment’s impact on people and sought answers to questions on personal feelings with the environment and how people become attached to a place and develop feelings about it. Research in place attachment has primarily focused on the social aspect, leaving a gap in the literature related to concepts of the built environment. The present study seeks to fill this gap by addressing the issue of physical place attachment among specific groups of international graduate students at Texas Tech University, a large public university in West Texas. Previous studies focused on generic and largescale place concepts such as the physical neighborhood ambiance. This study, by contrast, examines how international students from China and India choose and develop an attachment to study spaces around the university. A grounded qualitative research design was selected as the exploratory method of studying how international graduate students select, interact with, and create an attachment to preferred study places on and off-campus. The researcher conducted semi-structured individual and focus group interviews with a purposive sample of 50 Indian and Chinese participants. The results revealed some similarities and differences between Indian and Chinese graduate students in their most and least-preferred physical design and ideal study places. Both groups preferred quietness and natural light. However, Chinese graduate students preferred to study alone, while Indian graduate students felt motivated and supported when studying with others.
VL  - 6
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Ibtihaj Alsadun

Interior and Environmental Design Department, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia
Kristi Gaines

Interior and Environmental Design Department, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA
Michelle Pearson

Interior and Environmental Design Department, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA
Lee Duemer

Interior and Environmental Design Department, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA
Charles Klein

Interior and Environmental Design Department, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Ibtihaj Alsadun, Kristi Gaines, Michelle Pearson, Lee Duemer, Charles Klein. (2021). An Exploration of Study Spaces Among Chinese and Indian Graduate Students. American Journal of Art and Design, 6(1), 13-25. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Ibtihaj Alsadun; Kristi Gaines; Michelle Pearson; Lee Duemer; Charles Klein. An Exploration of Study Spaces Among Chinese and Indian Graduate Students. Am. J. Art Des. 2021, 6(1), 13-25. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Ibtihaj Alsadun, Kristi Gaines, Michelle Pearson, Lee Duemer, Charles Klein. An Exploration of Study Spaces Among Chinese and Indian Graduate Students. Am J Art Des. 2021;6(1):13-25. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13,
  author = {Ibtihaj Alsadun and Kristi Gaines and Michelle Pearson and Lee Duemer and Charles Klein},
  title = {An Exploration of Study Spaces Among Chinese and Indian Graduate Students},
  journal = {American Journal of Art and Design},
  volume = {6},
  number = {1},
  pages = {13-25},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajad.20210601.13},
  abstract = {Over the last 40 years, many environmental design researchers have examined the environment’s impact on people and sought answers to questions on personal feelings with the environment and how people become attached to a place and develop feelings about it. Research in place attachment has primarily focused on the social aspect, leaving a gap in the literature related to concepts of the built environment. The present study seeks to fill this gap by addressing the issue of physical place attachment among specific groups of international graduate students at Texas Tech University, a large public university in West Texas. Previous studies focused on generic and largescale place concepts such as the physical neighborhood ambiance. This study, by contrast, examines how international students from China and India choose and develop an attachment to study spaces around the university. A grounded qualitative research design was selected as the exploratory method of studying how international graduate students select, interact with, and create an attachment to preferred study places on and off-campus. The researcher conducted semi-structured individual and focus group interviews with a purposive sample of 50 Indian and Chinese participants. The results revealed some similarities and differences between Indian and Chinese graduate students in their most and least-preferred physical design and ideal study places. Both groups preferred quietness and natural light. However, Chinese graduate students preferred to study alone, while Indian graduate students felt motivated and supported when studying with others.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - An Exploration of Study Spaces Among Chinese and Indian Graduate Students
AU  - Ibtihaj Alsadun
AU  - Kristi Gaines
AU  - Michelle Pearson
AU  - Lee Duemer
AU  - Charles Klein
Y1  - 2021/03/30
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13
T2  - American Journal of Art and Design
JF  - American Journal of Art and Design
JO  - American Journal of Art and Design
SP  - 13
EP  - 25
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-7802
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210601.13
AB  - Over the last 40 years, many environmental design researchers have examined the environment’s impact on people and sought answers to questions on personal feelings with the environment and how people become attached to a place and develop feelings about it. Research in place attachment has primarily focused on the social aspect, leaving a gap in the literature related to concepts of the built environment. The present study seeks to fill this gap by addressing the issue of physical place attachment among specific groups of international graduate students at Texas Tech University, a large public university in West Texas. Previous studies focused on generic and largescale place concepts such as the physical neighborhood ambiance. This study, by contrast, examines how international students from China and India choose and develop an attachment to study spaces around the university. A grounded qualitative research design was selected as the exploratory method of studying how international graduate students select, interact with, and create an attachment to preferred study places on and off-campus. The researcher conducted semi-structured individual and focus group interviews with a purposive sample of 50 Indian and Chinese participants. The results revealed some similarities and differences between Indian and Chinese graduate students in their most and least-preferred physical design and ideal study places. Both groups preferred quietness and natural light. However, Chinese graduate students preferred to study alone, while Indian graduate students felt motivated and supported when studying with others.
VL  - 6
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download