Solution Tag: Interview

Brussels, or rather not?

Posted on January 5, 2018 by -

Residential context of Brussels

The Brussels population is growing continuously whereas the number of middle class families is diminishes year after year. As a result, the Brussels population impoverishes set-off against the growing economic importance of the Brussels region as part of Belgium. This situation has important financial repercussions for the Brussels region.

Motivational aspects of movers and stayers

To picture the migration of people to the suburbs of the Brussels region we want to investigate on their socio-economic profiles. To draw up these profiles we consider their life cycle, their education and professional interest, their life style, their preferences and housing expectations and their views on the changing social, political and economic circumstances of the Brussels region.

Goal 1: Delphi approach

Most often, studies solely rely on the participation of residents to complete a survey questionnaire on their motives.

“Supported by the MOTUS-software this research relies on the Delphi approach in which a multi-actor, multi-method research setup is considered.”

The multi-actor is covered by incorporating the input from policy makers, persons responsible in the domain of housing on communal and regional level, in the domain of transport, in the domain of education and employment, scientific experts, employers, tenants, house owners and many other.

These actors undergo in a first stage an iterative process of open questioning in which they further precise their vision(s) on the subject based on input from previous rounds. In a next stage these information is used to define a questionnaire to present to 1.000 stayers and movers. In a third phase the outcomes of the data collection is (re)discussed with the above-mentioned experts, and policy recommendations are made.

Goal 2: FUR – Functional Urban Region

Once the Delphi is complete and the study results are discussed by the experts a second research goal is put forward, namely visualising the geographical area in which people spend their daily time travelling, working, buying goods, participate to culture, let their kids take part to social live, … .

“With MOTUS we can visualize the professional and social interactions movers still have with the Brussels region.”

The eminent goal is to get a grip on how these interactions should be valued in costs and benefits both on the individual/household level and on the level of the Brussels region. Our research goal is (a) map the individual FUR’s, and (b) interfere on the motivational and satisfactional level on the interaction with the Brussels region by asking extra questions through the MOTUS-application.

News Diversity

Posted on January 5, 2018 by -

Diversity and information media

News diversity is an essential part of a good working democracy. To frame this, we will examine the following 3 dimensions in this project: (1) diversity of issues, (2) diversity of actors, and (3) viewpoint (or opinion) diversity.

Information media diversity under threat

At present the feeling prevails that the news diversity is jeopardised. To asses this threat the project starts from 3 assumptions:

  • The diversity of media is increasing, in part because of the Internet-based information supply
  • The diversity of supply is not applicable to more political and social sensitive themes
  • The use of media content is increasingly segmented, which means that news diversity on the individual level just might decrease

Users diversity

Recent studies give an insight in how and which platforms play a role in the consumption of media. Information on what people consume is rather scarce and not coherent.  Moreover, also the link between audience segments (gender, age, education, ethnicity, profession …) and news content becomes increasingly important to figure out.

Grasping news use/consumption is hard to organise

With the advancements is mobile technology people can consume news and media by different devices, giving them access to different sources as well as to new sources, while also the situational context is less restrictive to the consumption of news. It is therefore hard to pinpoint how news is being consumed. This calls for a more holistic view on how media and news are imbedded in our daily lives.

“MOTUS is perfectly suited to capture at the same time the news users’ repertoire and the socio-spatial context of news use.”

How?

For this project hbits will:

  1. Make it possible to map the news use patterns of 600 respondents between 18 and 45 years old, and for 7 consecutive days
  2. Extra tasks will be asked to the respondent based on notifications send via the MOTUS-app, eg. to scan personal social media pages and give details about the source, the content, … but we will also ask about their attitudes towards diversity
  3. Provide information for a focus group discussion

Occupant-home interaction before and after renovation

Posted on February 14, 2017 by -

Our home: 5 features

We spend more than 90% of our time indoors, much of which is also spent in our own home. Studies show that the technical condition of a home also affects the physical and mental health of the people who live in it.

A healthy home usually has 5 features:

  • good sleeping conditions
  • comfortable indoor temperature
  • fresh air
  • plenty of natural light
  • good humidity level

Renovation: necessary, but not straightforward

In Europe the renovation of houses is an important focal point when it comes to energy efficiency. It is estimated that 9 out of 10 dwellings today will still be lived in by 2050. However, approximately 3/4 of these homes are not energy-efficient and so score poorly on at least 1 of the 5 features stated above. In fact, usually on several points. Yet despite that, many home-owners still hesitate to undertake the renovations needed due to a lack of knowledge and budget.

Affordable renovation in social housing

So how can we make sure that more homes are renovated? This is the question that VELUX asked when it embarked on a project in Anderlecht (Belgium), in the working-class district of Goede Lucht.  The project involved tackling a house built in the 1920s [JS1] where there was a significant need for structural renovation. Most of the residents of the area are tenants of the Social Housing company ‘Anderlechtse Haard’, which owns the building in question.

With this in mind, VELUX outlined an affordable renovation concept in which automatic controls play a key role: RenovActive.

From prototype to stereotype

Part of the affordability of this renovation project stems from the ability to replicate the renovation principles used. And so it was that the first renovated house was able to become the blueprint for 86 similar renovation projects in the neighbourhood. This means that RenovActive is now evolving from prototype to stereotype: millions of houses owned by social housing companies in Europe can use these same renovation principles.

OK – but what really changes for the occupant?

Every architect and manufacturer will argue based on the potential of the project or product in question. So it may be possible the effect that the renovation has on the way in which occupants actually use their house differs from the initial theoretical assessment.

A user analysis of the residents gives us an insight into the question of ‘how do various aspects of renovation have an effect on interaction between the occupant and the house?’.

Mixture of methods

Underlying the overall question, our aim is to gather knowledge about the 4 dimensions of the interaction between the occupant and the house:

  • Overall wellbeing
  • Satisfaction/happiness with the house
  • Perception of health
  • Patterns of behaviour

For this project hbits is using a combination of different data collection methods. There’s the (online) questionnaire, individual conversations and group discussions – and then there’s the MOTUS app for examining user behaviour.

The occupants use the MOTUS app to record their behaviour and answer context-related questions. The types of behaviour involve, on the one hand, the use/application of technical renovations (e.g. central ventilation, central heating, opening a window/door) and, on the other, day-to-day activities (work, domestic chores, free time, sleeping, etc.) at home/elsewhere, alone or with others.

The MOTUS app will also be used as an intermediary for communicating technical indicators (such as the consumption of heat) to the occupants and to ask extra questions about them. By doing this, we can link technical input with sociological input.

Before and after comparisons

All family members in the participating families are asked to take part in the screening at different periods of throughout the RenovActive project. The screening begins with a t-1 measurement at their old, unrenovated house and hence before they move back into their newly renovated home. Shortly after moving into the new dwelling, a t-0 measurement is carried out. A further 7 measurements are then carried out over a period of 2 years to assess any changes in behaviour and opinions. By doing this, we can also even out any seasonal variations.

The study began in 2016 and will end in 2018/19.