Residence Halls Research Articles

Designing with neurodiversity in mind supports overall student success

PHILADELPHIA — Before you update or renovate residence halls, student unions, recreation centers, or other on‐campus facilities frequently trafficked by your students, keep in mind that designing for neurodiversity can make a significant difference in overall student success.

A Catholic safe haven: University students from Eastern Europe in Spain during Francoism

In 1946, Madrid became home to a Catholic university residence, the colegio mayor Santiago Apóstol, which catered specifically to refugee students from Eastern Europe who had fled the aftermath of the Second World War and the creation of Communist regimes in their home countries. This residence hall, which housed about 800 students from 20 nationalities between its opening in the postwar era and its rededication in 1969, was part of the anticommunist governmental strategy to overcome the political isolation that Francoist Spain found itself in. It was also part of the efforts of the Catholic church to support refugees from Eastern Europe in the early Cold War. This article aims to bring these strands together, focusing on the founding of the residence hall as a Catholic and governmental endeavor. In a second step, the article focuses on the residence hall itself, considering the agency of the residence’s officials and its students, and contemplating the residence’s academic and exile networks both in Spain and internationally.

Designing with neurodiversity in mind supports overall student success

PHILADELPHIA — Before you update or renovate residence halls, student unions, recreation centers, or other on‐campus facilities frequently trafficked by your students, keep in mind that designing for neurodiversity can make a significant difference in overall student success.

Exploring Leadership Development Amongst Students Engaged in Residence Hall Council

Exploring Leadership Development Amongst Students Engaged in Residence Hall Council

Exploring microbial analysis of tap water in University of Benin Halls of residence: implications for health and sustainability

Exploring microbial analysis of tap water in University of Benin Halls of residence: implications for health and sustainability

PREVALENCE AND SUSCEPTIBILITY OF BACTERIA FROM USED TOOTHBRUSHES OF STUDENTS RESIDING IN HALL I AND II UNIVERSITY OF BENIN

Used toothbrushes are reservoirs for varieties of bacteria that are implicated in human disease transmission. Personal oral hygiene and removal of plaque are important roles played by the use of toothbrushes in an act endorsed for oral hygiene resolution and ubiquitously practiced in developing and developed Nations. The study aims to evaluate the prevalence and susceptibility of bacteria present in used toothbrushes of students residing in Halls I and II, University of Benin. New toothbrushes ninety (90) were bought and forty-five (45) each were distributed to students in each hall of residence, these toothbrushes were used for one month and collected for bacteria analysis. Standard bacteriological procedures were observed for the analysis. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 22.0 computer software package. Independent t-test was used to find the differences between the two variables. The value of p< 0.05 was taken to be statistically significant. Heavy bacteria contamination was associated with used toothbrushes while no bacteria contamination in the unused ones, which serves as a control. Klebsiella species 16 (35.53 %), and 19 (42.2 %) were more prevalent than coagulase-negative staphylococci species 2 (4.4 %) and 2(4.4 %) respectively from both halls. All the toothbrushes analyzed in this study had bacteria contaminates that are known to harm human health, contributing significantly to the spread of diseases, and increasing infection risks. Establishing a high aseptic protocol, storage, and management be encouraged in tertiary institution halls of residence as the incidence of these oral bacteria and individual health risks will be minimized.

The business of universities: A case study of halls of residence

The business of universities: A case study of halls of residence

ESCAPE: EVACUATION SIMULATION USING COGNITIVE AGENT-BASED MODELING ON POSSIBLE EARTHQUAKE IN GAMA PLATFORM FOR THE CASE OF KALAYAAN RESIDENCE HALL

Abstract. Agent-based modeling (ABM) is a valuable tool for assessing the life-safety capacity of buildings during evacuations. This study focuses on the Kalayaan Residence Hall (KRH), a university dormitory, using Evacuation Simulation using Cognitive Agent-based modeling on Possible Earthquake (ESCAPE). ESCAPE integrates cognitive behavior, addressing the oversight in traditional ABM by considering human aspects. The 3D GIS-based model of KRH includes floors, rooms, exits, and path networks. Occupants involved in the model comprise residents, maintenance, office staff, and guards. The simulations, featuring eight scenarios, vary in agent numbers, locations, and time-based behaviors derived from survey responses. In 800 simulation runs, 79 exceeded the recommended evacuation time of 150 seconds. Analysis reveals evacuation time is influenced by the evacuee count, with over 500 occupants causing inefficiencies. The study suggests increasing occupants' knowledge about evacuation protocols and conducting regular drills to reduce panic. Recommendations include enhancing unused exits' serviceability to improve the evacuation scheme. This comprehensive approach aims to optimize KRH's evacuation efficiency by addressing cognitive aspects and refining protocols.

Social microclimates and well-being.

Emotional well-being has a known relationship with a person's direct social ties, including friendships; but do ambient social and emotional features of the local community also play a role? This work takes advantage of university students' assignment to different local networks-or "social microclimates"-to probe this question. Using Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression, we quantify the collective impact of individual, social network, and microclimate factors on the emotional well-being of a cohort of first-year college students. Results indicate that well-being tracks individual factors but also myriad social and microclimate factors, reflecting one's peers and social surroundings. Students who belonged to emotionally stable and tight-knit microclimates (i.e., had emotionally stable friends or resided in densely connected residence halls) reported lower levels of psychological distress and higher levels of life satisfaction, even when controlling for factors such as personality and social network size. Although rarely discussed or acknowledged in the policies that create them, social microclimates are consequential to well-being, especially during life transitions. The effects of microclimate factors are small relative to some individual factors; however, they explain unique variance in well-being that is not directly captured by emotional stability or other individual factors. These findings are novel, but preliminary, and should be replicated in new samples and contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Student mental health support: A qualitative evaluation of new well-being services at a UK university

ABSTRACT Increasing numbers of UK students now seek mental health support while at university. Clear evidence for the best configuration of student support services is lacking. Most service evaluations have focused on counselling – with little evaluation of low-intensity support services such as non-clinical mental health and well-being teams or student accommodation welfare support. This qualitative study addresses that gap, examining student and staff experiences of new well-being advisers in academic departments and halls of residence at one UK university in 2018, marking a step-change in welfare support delivery. Using reflexive thematic analysis with data collected in 40 focus groups and interviews approximately 18 months after service launch, five themes were identified: Trusted Friend; Joined Up Approach; Proactive versus Reactive; Belonging; and My University Cares. The well-being advisers offered timely, low-intensity support as an accessible, approachable addition to academic, clinical and online provision. However, evidence showed operational challenges such as data-sharing between academic, professional and support service staff. The volume of students seeking support also appeared to compromise resource intended for preventative and community-building work, particularly in student accommodation. Concerns remained for students who do not seek help, with findings underlining the importance of issues of belonging, connection and representation in relation to well-being support. Notably, this highly visible well-being investment appeared to shift a negative cultural narrative which was undermining student and staff confidence to one of greater reassurance of support. Our conclusions have implications for student support service configuration and emphasise the importance of a whole university well-being approach.

Creating welcoming and supportive campus climates for Buddhist students: Barriers and opportunities

AbstractThere is scant available research and scholarly discourse related to the unique needs and experiences of Buddhist students in US higher education—even in the small but growing body of literature on religiously minoritized college students. In this chapter, I summarize what little research does exist on Buddhist students, and explain the broader historical, societal, and cultural factors that serve as important context for making sense of that research. Focus points include curriculum, institutional policy, and student affairs. In the end, I offer recommendations to faculty, administrators, and student affairs professionals regarding what they can do to help create more welcoming and supportive campus climates for Buddhist students.Practical Takeaways Buddhism is internally diverse and Buddhist students often understand religion and express religiousness in ways that greatly differ from Christian and many other religious students. For that reason, creating welcoming and supportive campus climates for them looks different from common ways institutions attempt to do that for students from other religious groups. Creating a designated Buddhist prayer space on campus may not be very helpful to Buddhist students. Things that are more likely to help include: providing religious literacy education to all students, creating an inclusive religious accommodations policy and interfaith calendar, permitting the use of incense in residence halls, hiring a full‐time student affairs professional dedicated to working with Buddhist students, regulating proselytizing on campus, avoiding appropriation of Buddhist traditions, and engaging with Buddhist students directly.

Beyond gender inclusive housing: building a trans and nonbinary residential experience

Supporting trans and nonbinary students in residence halls is critically important given the harassment, discrimination, and violence trans and nonbinary students face. Further, health outcomes are consistently worse for trans and nonbinary students compared to their cisgender peers. While gender inclusive environments are a first step they do not go far enough. What would it mean for the broader campus community to build a trans and nonbinary student experience in the residence halls, rooted in their needs and center their identity? This article outlines a promising solution by moving beyond gender inclusive housing and expanding the commitment to trans and nonbinary students. Our team utilized a distributed leadership model to thoroughly address all aspects of community living for trans and nonbinary students. This includes staffing, access, locations, demand, and an embedded health model.

A Transcendental Phenomenological Exploration of Undergraduate University Students’ Lived Experiences with Spiritual Leadership

This article presents findings from a recent study conducted at a Christian university exploring the spiritual leadership encounters undergraduate students described having with faculty and staff members. University students today face a myriad of challenges ranging from aspects of mental health to finding purpose and meaning in life. As a result, many university decision-makers are seeking ways to improve campus experiences that help meet the needs of their students and increase student engagement, retention, and graduation rates. Spiritual leadership theory is a relatively new theory in leadership studies that has been validated in several studies in various fields. However, there is limited research exploring spiritual leadership in a university context. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological research study was to explore the lived experience of undergraduate university students with spiritual leadership encounters while attending a university. The data revealed that the spiritual leadership encounters students in this study had with faculty and staff members resulted in several positive experiences, including feelings of being cared for, feeling supported, developing a sense of community, and increased academic motivation. Recommendations for the future include encouraging university decision-makers to explore the potential benefits of integrating the spiritual leadership framework into current pedagogical practices. The information presented here may help practitioners of the spiritual leadership model in classrooms, residential halls, and other university settings to potentially experience similar benefits with the undergraduate students they teach and lead.

Public University Students’ Experiences of Anti-Feminist Backlash in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Public university campuses in Bangladesh have been historically significant sites of negotiating with social and political orders. Based on in-depth interviews with male and female students from three public universities in Dhaka, conducted between 2022 and 2023, this article identifies the ways in which formal and informal structures of power on campus reproduce patriarchal norms and gendered inequities. The students’ narratives shed light on how the culture of residential halls, and practices of policing and surveillance, interact with patriarchal norms to limit women’s agency and mobility. They also show the ways in which masculine practices which draw from hypersexual views on women and glorify violence become enabled and sustained by institutional power dynamics, wherein harassment and policing become instruments to negotiate power. The article provides new insights into the ways in which patriarchal power dynamics and gender norms promoted and practised within an institutional space create drivers of anti‑feminist backlash.

The Pact: How a Seemingly Race-Neutral Behavioral Policy Reproduced Racial Inequality at a Predominantly White Liberal Arts College

How do seemingly nonracial organizational processes reproduce racial inequality? This study examines how “the Pact,” an ostensibly race-neutral COVID-19 behavioral policy implemented at a predominantly White U.S. liberal arts college, undermined social connection and belonging among students of color. Analyzing three waves of interviews with 30 undergraduates (N = 75 interviews), we document disparities in four domains of campus life: (1) social isolation in residence halls, (2) access to “safe” forms of rule breaking, (3) visibility and surveillance, and (4) stakes of violation. We identify three underlying mechanisms—unequal resource allocation, uneven rule enforcement, and color-blind decision-making—and demonstrate how distinct institutional conditions facilitated these processes. This analysis advances theoretical understandings of racialized organizational processes in higher education by connecting previously theorized mechanisms to specific university characteristics and practices.

The Need of Online Counselling to Enhance Mental Health among Students in Higher Learning Institutions in Tanzania

This study aimed to explore the need of online counselling to enhance mental health among students in higher learning institutions. The study employed a qualitative research approach in which 40 participants were involved. These were purposefully selected from two higher learning institutions in Tanzania - 30 were students and 10 were counsellors. In-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussion were used to collect data from the respondents. The findings revealed that through online counselling, it is easy to access psychosocial therapy, maintain privacy, conduct time/cost-friendly therapy, access services, allow freedom of expression as well as allow easy feedback and follow-up. Also, network connectivity problems, bundle challenges, fear of online hacking and failure to understand clients’ feelings were revealed to be challenges on the use of online counselling. However, awareness on the importance of online counselling, capacity building on the forms of online counselling, availability of free Wi-Fi in university campuses and halls of residence, reduced cost of bundles and provision of university offers as well as formation of online counselling support groups were earmarked as strategies for enhancing online counselling among undergraduate students as a way of enhancing their mental health.

Exploring the Layout Optimization of Commercial Service Space Affecting Energy Consumption in Communities Using Machine Learning

The current design of commercial service spaces in many communities faces issues like incoherence, irrational resource allocation, and low utilization rates. These challenges contribute to increased energy consumption in communities, hindering the overall sustainable development of cities. As a representative community space in the urban environment, the commercial space within the campus requires continuous energy input. Its energy-efficient layout aligns with the principles of sustainable development. This paper uses the university campus as a case study to examine energy-efficient commercial space layout and community practices for environmental protection. Various factors influence the layout of inter-community commercial spaces, and the parameters for measuring the layout structure are diverse, considering the large sample size. Employing machine learning and big data processing to quantify development indicators across various industries and optimize their structure, resource allocation, and energy use has emerged as a viable tool for sustainable urban planning practices. This research seeks to utilize machine learning and data-driven optimization techniques to formulate a comprehensive framework for the sustainable allocation and design of business service spaces within communities. Firstly, we conduct a comprehensive investigation, which includes data collected by applying questionnaire surveys and field research, to assess and model the factors influencing the spatial layout of commercial services on university campuses. Secondly, the AEL machine learning model is constructed by combining the analytic hierarchy process to determine subjective weights, the entropy weight method to calculate objective weights, and the Lagrange algorithm to determine comprehensive weights. Thirdly, we assess and improve the layout of commercial service spaces. Then, by training and testing the Neural Network Model, we apply cases to ensure the accuracy of the machine learning calculation results. Qualitative analysis elucidates the varying factors influencing the sustainable layout of different commercial spaces. Quantitative analysis indicates that, within university campuses, the distance between commercial service spaces and residence halls is a crucial factor in fostering a more sustainable layout. Other significant factors include their location along major student routes and proximity to teaching areas. This study makes contributions not only to the specific field of optimizing commercial service space in communities but also to the broader discourse on sustainable urban development. It advances our understanding of the complex dynamics involved in crafting urban environments that are both efficient and environmentally friendly. Beyond theoretical considerations, the study provides practical solutions and recommendations applicable to implementing tangible improvements in resource allocation. These contributions aim to foster urban environments that are not only environmentally conscious but also economically viable.

Student leadership: A tool for accessibility beyond the classroom

Complete access to the college experience includes being a part of the campus culture and equitable opportunities to interact with peers beyond the classroom. While professional disability service providers can remove barriers in classrooms, residence halls, and beyond, there are corners of the campus experience best reached by students.

UF offers streamlined process for accommodations, modifications in on‐campus housing

At the University of Florida, students have the opportunity to reside in Cypress Hall, a residence hall designed with universal design principles. Jenna Gonzalez, the Director of the Disability Resource Center at UF, discusses the accommodations and modifications available to students who choose to live on campus.

Facial Recognition-Based Entry System for Student Residence Halls: Enhancing Security and Accessibility

Protecting an organization from numerous threats both inside and outside is the primary function of the security system. Automated embedded systems have come a long way in the contemporary era and have shown to be highly beneficial in applications related to security and surveillance. Face recognition is one of the study fields in computer vision, which is commonly used in security systems for video surveillance. Even though facial recognition technology has advanced significantly and is employed in several significant applications, numerous challenges need to be solved. These challenges include changes in posture, occlusions, expression, aging, lighting, and other elements. Deep learning can be useful in these situations. By using several processing layers to develop data representations with multiple feature extraction layers, deep learning may achieve higher accuracy. With the purpose of providing better security for student residence halls, in this work, we present a real-time deep learning-based facial recognition system that can be used to identify an individual's identity and give a warning when the individual's face is not recognized in front of the system. Here, faces from the face database are matched in order to identify students based on a video of their arrival into the residence halls. This process begins with face detection and ends with face recognition. We used a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based model Multi-Task Cascaded Convolutional Neural Networks (MTCNN) for face detection and recognizing faces using the Google FaceNet model. The model was trained on around 3000 photos, taken by 30 distinct people.