This descriptive study investigated the possible effects of selected school design patterns on third-grade students' academic achievement. A reduced regression analysis revealed the effects of school design components (patterns) on ITBS achievement data, after including control variables, for a sample of third-grade students drawn from 24…

Purpose: This paper seeks to examine the spatial patterns of student use of machines in each laboratory to whether there are underlying commonalities. Design/methodology/approach: The research was carried out by assessing the user behaviour in 16 computer laboratories at a regional university in Australia. Findings: The study found that computers…

If interpersonal spacing is a component of sex-role development, then gender identity development may partly mediate age and sex differences in personal space, as well as variations in distances due to the sex of the stimulus person. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate this possibility. Personal space preferences of 36 male and…

The importance of nonverbal communication is clear when you realize that some 90 percent of the total impact of a message can come from the nonverbal elements of that message. (Author)

Airplane travelers are dismayed by the long lines and seemingly chaotic activities that precede boarding a full airplane. Surely, the one who can solve this problem is going to make many travelers happy. This article describes the Jet Travel Challenge, an activity that challenges students to create some alternatives to this now frustrating…

Explores the efficacy of touch in the counseling situation by examining the importance of tactile communication in human development, the impact of socialization and cultural factors on the meanings of touch, and clinical and research evidence relevant to the use of touch in therapeutic settings. Suggests guidelines for the use of touch in…

Investigates the ability of four-, five-, and six-year-olds to locate their starting point and retrieve an immobilized object after being blindfolded and moved. Results indicate that, while children as young as four years can coordinate an initial egocentrated target location with what they believe to be their starting point, computation of the…

Describes the development of a proxemics exercise from workshops conducted with school teachers and counselors (N=69). Concludes that territoriality involving human beings may be a far broader concept than has been previously thought. (LLL)

Electronic technology has created a revolution in portability of information, documentation, and communication. We are now able to connect with people, information, organizations, and merchandise from anywhere at practically any time. As electronically fabricated environments replace actual physical surroundings, however, we become displaced.…

This article defines personal space and distinguishes it from its companion research areas. It then reviews and evaluates current personal space theories and measurement techniques. (JB)

This article describes a teacher's method of reaching a student who was terrified of the world. Providing him with a safe place of his own in the classroom enabled him to trust the world a bit. (MT)

Examines proxemics, the study of people's use of distance and space arrangements, and how these can affect the adult learning environment. (SK)

In this paper, evidences that visuo-spatial perception in the peri-personal space is not an abstract, disembodied phenomenon but is rather shaped by action constraints are reviewed. Locating a visual target with the intention of reaching it requires that the relevant spatial information is considered in relation with the body-part that will be…

This article introduces the concept of "free spaces" as an important site for the development of theory and practice around youth activism, teacher development, and the transformation of public and private space in urban schools and communities. Nearly a quarter of a century ago, Evans and Boyte (1986) introduced the concept of "free spaces" in…

On various campuses, including the author's, "safe space" stickers are used to designate offices supposedly free of homophobia. The author critiques this practice, pointing out that it still privileges the white heterosexual subject while also obscuring connections between sexuality, gender, and race. (Contains 10 notes.)