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Drew, I am quite familiar with Northfield; the whole town, actually, having gone to college there (at the other one, mind you) and having lived there for several years after graduation. I concur with Alan; you may want to consider a number of different techniques in your study. Bear in mind that the campus is not a closed system; the cognitive map of the typical Carleton student will likely include areas adjacent to the campus, including downtown. It may be wise to include a larger spatial area in your study, particularly given the relatively high numbers of students who live off-campus (on both sides of the river), and the many students who frequent the businesses in downtown Northfield. Sounds interesting! Please let me know when you've completed your project. Andrew Sheie On Thursday, October 14, 2004, at 03:08AM, Alan Penn <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >Drew, > >It is hard to answer without seeing your site, but I would recommend also >using axial analysis for this. VGA tends to get rather skewed by large areas >of open space, while axial analysis represents the dominant 'long lines' of >accessibility that seem to comprise people's route networks. Axial analysis >currently still provides a better correlate with aggregate pedestrian >movement flows than VGA, however the detailed 'visual' picture you get from >VGA as this varies from location to location may well prove useful in terms >of the individual cognitive questions you are asking. You might also >consider EVAS agent based simulations in which the visibility graph is >adapted to consider the forward facing directional nature of human vision. > >Ultimately the question comes down to what form of analysis makes sense of >your empirical data, so when in doubt analyse things both ways. > >If you haven't seen them, you might take a look at: > >Kim, YO & Penn, A, Linking the Spatial Syntax of Cognition to the Spatial >Syntax of the Environment, ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR, Vol. 36 No. 4, July >2004 483-504 > >Penn, A. Space Syntax and Spatial Cognition, or Why the Axial Line? >ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR, Vol. 35 No. 1, January 2003 30-65 > >Alan Penn >Professor of Architectural and Urban Computing >The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies >University College London >Gower Street >London WC1E 6BT >+44 (0)20 7679 5919 >[log in to unmask] >www.vr.ucl.ac.uk >www.spacesyntax.org > > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: On >> Behalf Of Drew Dara-Abrams >> Sent: 13 October 2004 05:32 >> To: >> Subject: equating space syntax measures with spatial cognition >> >> For my senior (undergraduate) thesis in cognitive science, I am >> designing a small-scale study of the impact of urban form on spatial >> cognition. Specifically I am interested in using the case study of a >> college campus to ask whether space syntax measures correlate with >> distortions in spatial memory (as measured by cognitive psychology tests). >> >> At the moment, I am wondering what space syntax techniques would be most >> appropriate to use (or whether they would be appropriate at all) for my >> test area, the campus of Carleton College (Minnesota, U.S.A.). The >> campus is located on the edge of a small town and has a variety of >> different types of buildings (academic, administrative, residential) >> somewhat loosely grouped, usually separated by lawns with pedestrian >> walkways. (A campus map is on-line at >> http://webapps.acs.carleton.edu/visitors/). I have been considering the >> possibility of using visibility graph analysis, probably with Depthmap, >> to determine the integration values of various locations around campus >> so that I can then compare them with results from tests of spatial >> memory. I find VGA appealing since it can be equated with human vision. >> However, I am unsure whether VGA would be suitable for this setting. >> Would it be appropriate to use such techniques to analyze large outdoor >> spaces? Would the lawns and quads be a problem for VGA? >> >> I would appreciate any comments, suggestions, or references that anyone >> may have. I can be reached by e-mail at [log in to unmask] and would >> be glad to provide more details. >> >> Thank you for your time, >> Drew Dara-Abrams >> >> -- >> >> Drew Dara-Abrams >> > Cognitive Studies Program, Class of 2005 >> > Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota >> > [log in to unmask], +1-507-663-7824 >> > on-line at: http://drew.dara-abrams.com/ > >