Dr. Nancy Marshall, Associate Dean/Educationprofessor Bill Randolph,Associate Dean/Research

Dr. Nancy Marshall, Associate Dean/Educationprofessor Bill Randolph,Associate Dean/Research

Research Link Scholarship Program2012 – Staff Application
Staff Surname/s: / Bishop / Staff
First Name/s: / Kate
Telephone/Email:
Your Discipline/s: / A+D Discipline X ConPlanProp Discipline Both Disciplines represented
Name of the direct supervisor of this project(if other than the applicant or if there is more than one applicant i.e. team application) / Kate Bishop
What types of skills would you prefer student applicants to have?(Please check all boxes as appropriate)
PowerPoint GIS Excel X SPSS Library research skillsX Web Page Creation
Other
Research Project Information
Title of Project / BE Place Centred
Very brief (60 word) Project Summary (so that students understand what the project is about)
In 2012, Dr Nancy Marshall, Dr Kate Bishop and Emeritus Professor Jon Lang were awarded a Faculty Research Grant with this title. The aim of this one year project is to ‘pilot test’ approaches to place-based research for community partners such as the City of Sydney. As part of the project, we will undertake an analysis ofOxford Square to collect data and then to provide recommendations for activating the site.
Project objectives and Methodology (key research question(s) to be addressed, methods to be used)
The project objectives are to describe the square, understand the square and the context around it, understand the activities that take place in the square at all times during the day and night, 7 days per week. The methodologies that will be used span historical research, site evaluation techniques, participant observation and behaviour mapping, sound recording, time lapse photography and usability assessments. The key questions being addressed include: What is the nature of the square and how is it used? What are the present meanings/images and uses of the square in its context?
Expected project outcomes
This aspect of the project will result in a research report and series of recommendations for changes and strategies for activating the square as well as recommendations for further research. This pilot project will form the basis of a larger multisite research project to develop a model for conceptualising place-making and the principal considerations in public urban spaces.
Specific student tasks and responsibilities
The student will be involved in all aspects of the project as it develops but principally in undertaking the field work associated with it. This includes the physical site assessment, recording the soundscape, undertaking the participant observation and behavior mapping tasks on site.The student will also be involved in the data analysis processes. The student will be working alongside the two Research Assistants and the three project leaders already working on the project.
Minimum student qualifications
The student that is awarded this project should have an interest in the relationship between people and place and be keen to understand how planning and urban design can influence people’s experience of place. They should be comfortable reading academic literature and analysing complex issues and disparate sources of information. They should also be comfortable spending quite a number of hours on site recording and observing the life of the site.

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Dr. Nancy Marshall, Associate Dean/EducationProfessor Bill Randolph,Associate Dean/Research