AESTRACTThird and fourth year undergraduate interior design students in Colleges of Architecture or Human Sciences at three different research universities were surveyed to compare their: (1 ) perceived value of research in interior design practice, (2) perceptions of who should conduct research, ( 3 ) attitudes toward research in interior design education, and (4) definitions of research. A survey instrument was developed that consisted of one openended question and 29 questions using a Likert scale. Questions were adapted from the Chenoweth and Chidister (1 983) scale that measured landscape architecture attitudes toward research, and from the Dickson and White ( 1 993) scale administered to interior design practicing professionals. A total of 89 undergraduate students were surveyed from the three universities. The majority of the students were Caucasian (n = 79) and female (n = 84). The results indicated that, overall, students valued research for the profession regardless of their college or university off iliation. However, their definitions of research were pragmatic in nature, and they often regarded research as the gathering of information rather than the generation of new knowledge. The students were also unclear about who should be conducting interior design research. College affiliation revealed that students who were in an architecturally-based program put a higher value on research at the undergraduate level than those students housed in a College of Human Sciences; similarly, College of Architecture students had a better understanding that research advanced a profession.Although much has been written about practicing professionals' perceptions of research (e.g., Dickson and White, 1993; White and Dickson, 1994), to date, no JOURNAL OF INTERIOR DESIGN 1 8 Copyright 2007, Interior Design Educators Council, Journal of Intm'or Design 32(2) EMPIRICAL DESIGN RESEARCH DICKINSON, MARSDEN, AND READ Although educators are producing the research, practitioners do not rely on this body of knowledge during the design process.

Assisted living has been promoted as a noninstitutional relocation choice offering personal care services for older persons in a residential or homelike context. Yet, it is unknown whether assisted living is actually perceived as homelike. A study was conducted to examine whether one aspect of assisted living—the exterior appearance—is perceived as homelike by older persons and family members. The study used color photographs of existing assisted living buildings, and participants were asked to evaluate the scenes in terms of homeyness. Findings indicate that three characteristics of the scenes were particularly salient in the evaluations: entries, building height, and sense of “institutional” or “homelike.” Older persons and family members showed strong agreement with respect to certain entries and features that reflected homelike character. Dissimilarities, however, also existed. In particular, older persons tended to favor sheltered entries on a small scale and newer buildings, whereas family members placed less emphasis on a one-story building height.

Although research has been a topic of discussion for the past few decades within the academy, how interior design educators view research has not been examined. The purpose of this investigation was to survey interior design faculty who are members of the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) to determine (1) their definitions of research and programming, (2) their perceived value of research in interior design practice and education, (3) their perceptions of who should conduct research, (4) the degree to which they are engaging in research, and (5) how they are incorporating research into the classroom. Sixty-five faculty members responded to the online survey that consisted of three open-ended questions, 20 questions using a Likert Scale, and questions documenting demographic information. The results indicated that the faculty who responded did not have a working definition of research or programming, and a number of faculty members did not clearly understand the difference between the two. Although 27% of the sample responded that research involved discovery or moved the field forward, another 20% defined research solely as information gathering. The educators in this study valued research, and 80% believed that research findings provide useful information to the profession. Yet, many of the subjects in this study were unclear on whether interior design educators, practitioners, or specialists in other fields should be conducting interior design research. The majority of subjects valued what research could bring to the student during the design process, yet there was hesitation on whether undergraduate students should be taking research-related coursework.

The purpose of this study was to investigate interior design practitioners' perceived attitudes toward the inclusion of research at the undergraduate and graduate levels, minimum degree requirements for practice and teaching, and the value of the graduate degree in the field of interior design. Interior design practitioners who are members of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) were surveyed (n = 250) using an online questionnaire based on several existing scales. The questionnaire was distributed through a primary contact with ASID as an e‐mail blast to all members within the organization. As a whole, the participants in this investigation believed that undergraduate and graduate students should have an understanding of research and be able to apply findings to design projects. However, practitioners did not respond positively to positioning the Master of Interior Design (MID) as the first professional degree or to a graduate degree in general as a minimum credential to practice. Some practitioners valued the graduate degree to increase marketability, enhance the prestige of the profession, and provide specialization. Others placed more emphasis on practical experience, continuing education, and innate talent rather than a graduate degree. More educated individuals with advanced degrees who were younger than 40 and were practicing commercial design were significantly more likely to value research. The fact that some educators have been advocating for the MID as the first professional degree for the discipline shows a disconnect between practice and academia.

Long-term care facilities are increasingly incorporating some sort of kitchen, often referred to as a therapeutic kitchen, for resident, staff, and family use through remodeling efforts or new construction. A study, consisting of five site visits and a questionnaire mailed to 631 facilities providing dementia care, was conducted to identify physical features that are typically included in therapeutic kitchen design and to explore how these features support daily use in relation to activities programming and food service systems. Findings indicate that universal design features should be incorporated to a greater extent and certain features are more common, reinforce homelike imagery, or enhance safety. Results also suggest that a higher number of residents participate in more recreational activities, such as baking, than they do in household chores, such as meal set-up, and therapeutic kitchens are not always linked to food service systems.