Using Repertory Grid Technique to Investigate the Impact of Changing University Hostel Function during COVID-19 Pandemic on Students' Well-Being: A Pilot Study

Fanan Jameel, Ahmed Agiel

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic alerts us about the future of the architectural design of our built environment. During this pandemic, buildings have functioned unexpectedly for different purposes and lengths of stay. Some student hostels have been transformed from their standard operations to become quarantine buildings, such as Maqam 4, one of the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) female hostels. We were interested in examining the hostel design and function under this uncommon situation to explore a potential need for a new building typology for university students. Therefore, we sought to investigate the impact of the hostel design, during its both quarantine and standard operations, on students' well-being. Studies concerned with students' well-being during COVID-19 were mainly using standard psychiatric scales to gain quantitative measures for certain predefined mental disorders through self-reporting questionnaires. We aimed to implement a more intercave approach navigating students' feelings and gaining a rich insight of their perceptions about the built environment. For that, concepts of the Personal Construct Theory (PCT) and its associated Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) were targeted as a method for this aim in a small-scale research. RGT is a structured interview aims to find out how people make sense of their experiences. In this pilot study, perceptions of quarantined and non-quarantined students who stayed in the same hostel, case of Maqam 4, were gained through semi-structured individual interviews. The results revealed the good potential for the use of RGT in the full-scale research. These results articulated the kind of hostels that university students are willing to stay in normal and extreme events such as COVID-19. It also questioned whether there is a future need for a new building typology to emerge or a resilient design to cope with different living scenarios.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationZEMCH 2021 - 8th Zero Energy Mass Custom Home International Conference, Proceedings
EditorsKheira Anissa Tabet Aoul, Mohammed Tariq Shafiq, Daniel Efurosibina Attoye
PublisherZEMCH Network
Pages778-787
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9789948310006
Publication statusPublished - 2021
Event8th Zero Energy Mass Custom Home International Conference, ZEMCH 2021 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Duration: Oct 26 2021Oct 28 2021

Publication series

NameZEMCH International Conference
ISSN (Electronic)2652-2926

Conference

Conference8th Zero Energy Mass Custom Home International Conference, ZEMCH 2021
Country/TerritoryUnited Arab Emirates
CityDubai
Period10/26/2110/28/21

Keywords

  • COVID-19 pandemic
  • Quarantine building
  • Repertory grid technique
  • Standard operation
  • Students' well-being
  • University hostel

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
  • Building and Construction
  • Architecture
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Computer Science Applications

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