Latest Blog Posts

Research indicates that co-working spaces may not support new businesses’ creativity long term.  Haefliger and Yacoub determined (via a study published in Organization) that “Co-working spaces can limit the creativity and innovation of new businesses. . . . These shared spaces . . . may offer initial opportunities to collaborate but, before long, they ultimately inhibit the emergence of collaborative practices. . . . Findings show that the informal setting of the space [co-working site at which data were collected] initially supported collective explorations between start-ups but inhibited collaborations from developing. While the space allowed for social interactions and networking in communal kitchen, lounge and breakout areas, findings showed that firms left the space as the collaborative benefits were small and interactions became less meaningful and stilted over time. Also, firms highlighted that the space became increasingly reliant on occupancy and scalability amid its growth which negatively impacted optimal special layout and more tailored relationships with start-ups.

Luke Lambert. 2022. “Co-Working Spaces Limit Creativity in the Long Run, Finds New Study.”  Press release, City, University of London, https://www.city.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2022/12/co-working-spaces-limit-creativity-in-the-long-run-finds-new-study#

With more and more people doing podcasts, creating optimal conditions for recording, at home, in offices, and elsewhere is becoming increasingly important.  A press release from the Acoustical Society of America shares that “A high-quality podcast recording is one that does not capture sounds other than the podcaster’s voice. . . . Mechanical noise should be controlled so that you cannot hear HVAC systems in a recording. . . . Square room proportions should be avoided as this can cause room modes, or buildup of sound energy in spots of the room, creating an uneven acoustic environment. Carpet is ideal for flooring, and an acoustically absorptive material should be attached to the wall(s) in the same plane as the podcaster’s voice. Wall materials should be 1-2” thick. Ceiling materials should be acoustically absorptive, and window glass should be angled upward to reduce resonance within the room. Strategies for improving sound separation may include sound rated doors or standard doors with full perimeter gaskets, sound isolation ceilings, and full height wall constructions with insulation and multiple layers of gypsum wallboard.”

“Room Design Considerations for Optimal Podcasting.” 2022.  Press release, Acoustical Society of America, https://acoustics.org/room-design-considerations-for-optimal-podcasting/

The findings of a recent study linking wearing face masks to lower cognitive performance may reasonably be extended to thinking while distracted more generally.  Smerdon found that “mandatory mask wearing has a negative causal effect on the cognitive performance of competitive chess players. I analyzed the quality of almost 3 million chess moves played by 8,531 individuals (ages 5–98 y) in 18 countries before and during the pandemic. Wearing a mask decreased the quality of players’ decisions—a measure of their cognitive performance. . . . However, the disruptive effect of masks is relatively short-lived, gradually weakening such that there is no measurable disadvantage from wearing a mask after roughly 4 h of play. The mask effect is driven by a large, negative effect for experts, with minimal change in performance at lower levels, and is stronger in high-incentive competitions. I provide support for a distraction mechanism whereby masks interfere with performance when working memory load is high.”

David Smerdon.  2022. “The Effects of Masks on Cognitive Performance.”  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 119, no. 49, e2206528119, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2206528119

Ho and colleagues studied links between culture and preferences for visual art.  They report that their “research investigates the appreciation of visual arts cross-culturally by hypothesizing and testing a cultural-match effect (i.e., people tend to appreciate same-culture artworks more than they appreciate different-culture artworks). . . . naïve viewers from Poland and Hong Kong were presented with 128 visual artworks varying in artwork culture (West vs. East). . . .  Supporting the hypothesis, the Polish group tended to appreciate Western (i.e., same-culture) artworks more than Eastern (i.e., different-culture) artworks. However, contrary to our prediction, the Hong Kong group also tended to appreciate Western (i.e., different-culture) artworks more than Eastern (i.e., same-culture) artworks, and that might be attributed to the Western influence Hong Kong had received during its British colonial years.”

Robbie Ho, Magdalena Szubielska, and Natalia Kopis-Posiej. “Cultural-Match Effect on the Appreciation of Traditional and Contemporary Visual Arts:  Evidence from Poland and Hong Kong.”  Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, in press, https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000535

Franssila and Kirjonen studied links between activity-based working and user performance.  They found that “Most of the facets of self-assessed productivity and all of the well-being facets did not change because of the adoption of ABW. ABW change had a positive impact on group work effectiveness but negative effect on perceptions of the facilities as conducive for efficient working. ABW change had an enhancing effect on the routine of protecting one’s concentration from software-induced interruptions and decreasing effect on using mobile technologies to work during idle times and using technology to avoid unnecessary traveling. ABW change made telework more acceptable.”

Helja Franssila and Aleksi Kirjonen. 2022. “Impact of Activity-Based Work Environments on Knowledge Work Performance – Quasi-Experimental Study in Governmental Workplaces.”  Journal of Corporate Real Estate, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 190-207, https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRE-01-2021-0001

Abdulkarim and Nasar continue to publish research on public plazas.  In their latest article they report that they “manipulated four scenarios for fountains (accessible, inaccessible, floor, nothing) and two for storefronts (present, absent) using slides of three plazas each manipulated to present one of the eight scenarios. [Participants] rate[d] the slides on the Perceived Visitability Scale. Fountains and storefronts increased visitability. Accessible water improved visitability for people between the ages 25 and 44. Participants between 18 and 24 and those 45 and older judged plazas with floor fountains as less visitable, suggesting varying effects of certain design elements across age groups.”

Dina Abdulkarim and Jack Nasar.  “A Splash and a Crowd:  Do Water Fountains and Storefronts Improve Plaza’s Visitability?” Environment and Behavior, in press, https://doi.org/10.1177/00139165221131262

Is it worth the effort to go on a walk during the winter?  Yes! Researchers have determined that “spending time in snowy surroundings can improve how you feel about your body. . . . Before and after walking in a snowy woodland in the Silesia region of Poland [people walked in small groups], the participants [all women] completed a measure of their body appreciation. . . .  The study found that spending a short amount of time in nature – in this case approximately 40 minutes – results in greater body appreciation.”

“The Real Benefits of Walking in a Winter Wonderland.” 2022.  Press release, Anglia Ruskin University, https://aru.ac.uk/news/the-real-benefits-of-walking-in-a-winter-wonderl…

Nieuwenhuijsen and team identify mental health benefits of urban green spaces.  They share that “Recently a new 3-30-300 rule of thumb for urban forestry and urban greening has been proposed. . . . The rule requires that every citizen should be able to see at least three trees from their home, have 30 percent tree canopy cover in their neighbourhood and not live more than 300 m away from the nearest park or green space. . . .  Residential surrounding greenness, but not tree window view or access to major green space, was significantly associated with better mental health, less medication use, and fewer psychologist or psychiatrist visits. Meeting the full surrogate 3-30-300 green space rule was associated with better mental health, less medication use, and fewer psychologist or psychiatrist visits, but only for the latter combined the association was statistically significant.”

Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Payam Dadvand, Sandra Marquez, Xavier Bartoll, Evelise Barboza, Marta Cirach, Carme Borrell, and Wilma Zijlema. 2022. “The Evaluation of the 3-30-300 Green Space Rule and Mental Health.”  Environmental Research, vol. 215, 114387, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.114387

Researchers continue to study annoying sounds.  Mueller-Trapet reports that “Whether it's the constant stomping of feet or the thump from dropping something . . . ‘impact sounds,’ are one of the main causes for complaints in multi-unit residential buildings and can negatively impact occupants' health and work. . . . According to Mueller-Trapet, long-term exposure to such unwanted sounds may potentially lead to cardiovascular problems and sleep disturbance. .  . . [the research team] provided a living room-like situation and recorded impact sounds of objects dropping and people walking. Using different playback techniques and virtual reality, they presented the recordings to study participants. In addition to laboratory experiments, the group created an online survey to expand their sample. . . . Impact sounds are impulsive, meaning that they consist of one or more almost distinct sounds of short duration. This likely makes impact sounds more annoying in general than continuous sounds, such as music or speech.”

“Why Those Sounds From Your Upstairs Neighbor Are So Annoying #ASA183.”  2022. Press release, Acoustical Society of America, https://www.newswise.com/articles/why-those-sounds-from-your-upstairs-n…

Motoki and teammates have found that opinions of brands can influence perceived tastes; it is possible that their findings can be applied more broadly.  The investigators determined that “Sincerity as a brand personality trait is reliably associated with sweet tastes, regardless of culture. . . . Moreover, brand sincerity is positively associated with sweet food sales.”

Kosuke Motoki, and Takanobu Nakahara, and Carlos Velasco.  “Tasting Brands:  Associations Between Brand Personality and Tastes.”  Journal of Business Research, vol. 156, 113509, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113509