Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
Current News
Refuge, Prospect, and Intimacy Gradients
10/13/2004
Some of the aspects of social swarming that our millennial kids use without even conscious thought employ aspects of refuge and prospect. If you are in constant contact with dozens of your friends as you move around town in packs, you can know beforehand that there are people at a party that you'd just as soon not meet up with, so you go somewhere else. You're using cell phones and social connections with others to stay at the edge of refuge yet discern what is out there in prospect.
There are elements of refuge and prospect in the design of computer laboratory space, in technology-enhanced classrooms, and even in the design of software programs. People tend to prefer the edges, where there is both refuge and prospect. For a congenial online community interface, something that might be designed with this principal in mind would be a way for a user who is about to enter a virtual space to see who is already online in there before deciding to enter and let others know that they are there also. This may also be why there are so many people who simply lurk in threaded discussion boards or e-mail discussion lists. Lurking is a "space" that is on the edge of refuge but where you can see but not be out in prospect space (in prospect space you may be exposed to criticism through actively exchanging communications).
Some of the least well-designed spaces on many campuses are computer lab spaces with rows of monitors all exposed to the eyes of others in the room, and often arranged such that, as you work at a machine, there may be people behind you looking over your shoulder. Those designs--driven by some practicalities such as maintenance and security--violate everything that we know about refuge and prospect. I know that I have never felt comfortable in such spaces.
Analogies from refuge and prospect, and intimacy gradient, can be carried over
in many places and in many ways. I hope that you will find that thinking about
it occasionally, in terms of the space you are in--both physically and virtually--and
in your professional work, will be both enjoyable (refuge) and informative (prospects).
About the author: Terry Calhoun is Director of Communications and Publications for the Society
for College and University Planning (SCUP). You can contact him through CT's IT Trends forum by clicking here. View more articles by Terry Calhoun.
Cite this Site
copy text (above) for proper citation
Recommended Reading
- News Update :: Tuesday, August 26, 2008
:::::: NEWS
: Report: Green Efforts Improving on Campuses
: Polytechnic Institute of NYU Deploys Array Networks Equipment for Access Control
: Oracle Releases Student Administration Integration Pack
: Red Hat Hacked, Company Issues Security Advisory
: Sun Open Sources Mobile Toolkit LWUIT
: Vulnerability Management Needed for Security, Study Says
: Microsoft Details SharePoint-SQL 2008 Integration
: Higher Ed Growing into BI, Data Warehousing
: LectureShare Updates Free Course Management System - Campus Security :: August 22, 2008
:::::: CASE STUDY
: Corralling Identity Management
:::::: CAMPUS SECURITY NEWS
: Vulnerability Management Needed for Security, Study Says
: Wayne State Deploys Q1 Labs QRadar to Manage and Secure Network
: KU Medical Center Installs Real-time Beacon System
: Virginia Tech Tries 'Compliance Sheriff' To Improve Web Site Accessibility
: Microsoft, BearingPoint Team Up To Provide Risk-Based Compliance Solution
: Collaboration Key to Security, Microsoft Says
: IBM Unveils New Software Designed To Streamline eDiscovery
: Security Woes Up, as PHP and OSS Make the List - IT Trends :: Thursday, August 21, 2008
:::::: INTERVIEW
:: Higher Ed Growing into BI, Data Warehousing
:::::: IT NEWS
:: Microsoft Changes Virtualization Licensing Rules
:: Vorex Upgrades Web-based Data Collection Tool for Schools
:: AT&T 'Big Mobile' Grant Extended
:: U Illinois Implements New StorMagic SAN in 15 Minutes
:: OOXML Reaffirmed, ISO/IEC Reject Appeals
:: Butler U Deploys Virtual Proofpoint Messaging Security Gateway
:: Linux Application Checker Brings Distro Help - SmartClassroom :: Wednesday, August 20, 2008
:::::: INTERVIEW
: The Power of Wikis in Higher Ed
:::::: NEWS and PRODUCT UPDATES
: Sakai 2.5.2 Gets Performance Boost; New Modules Released
: Georgia Virtual Tech Moves to Angel LMS for Web-based Instruction
: Video Spotlight: Campus Technology 2008 Keynote Address
: AT&T 'Big Mobile' Grant Extended
: Colorado State Launches New Online School - Web 2.0 :: Wednesday, August 20, 2008
:::::: THE BUZZ
: Digital Arrays for Evidence-Based Learning
:::::: WEB 2.0 IN ACTION
: "That Which Weaves Together:" The NSF Cyberlearning Report
:::::: PRODUCTS AND APPS
: Sakai 2.5.2 Gets Performance Boost; New Modules Released
: Vorex Upgrades Web-based Data Collection Tool for Schools
: Colorado State Launches New Online School
: Collexis' Lawriter Debuts Social Network for Law Students - News Update :: Tuesday, August 19, 2008
:::::: NEWS
: Video Spotlight: Campus Technology 2008 Keynote Address
: Report Finds Dip in Microsoft's Browser Share
: Butler U Deploys Virtual Proofpoint Messaging Security Gateway
: VMware's Updates Cause Problems, CEO Apologizes
: Intel Releases Interface for USB 3.0
: Linux Application Checker Brings Distro Help
: Wayne State Deploys Q1 Labs QRadar to Manage and Secure Network
: SunGard HE Releases New Unified Digital Campus
: Higher Education Fertile Ground for 802.11n WiFi, ABI Reports
