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The Use of Landmarks in Fire Emergencies: A Study of Gender and the Descriptive Quality of Landmarks on Successful Wayfinding
Author(s) -
Jung Jin Woo,
Gibson Kathleen
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of interior design
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.229
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1939-1668
pISSN - 1071-7641
DOI - 10.1111/j.1939-1668.2006.tb00312.x
Subject(s) - landmark , psychology , club , demography , population , post hoc , applied psychology , geography , cartography , medicine , orthodontics , sociology , anatomy
Researchers reviewing fire conditions at the Coconut Grove Night Club and the Beverly Hills Supper Club found occupant behavior was a factor in loss of life (Chertkoff & Kushigian, 1999). For this study, a virtual environment (VE) was created and subjects were randomly assigned to experience one of six virtual reality (VR) simulations. Wayfinding performance was scored on a four point scale: no errors, errors with self‐recovery, errors requiring re‐reading to recover, and failure to reach an exit. Subjects' responses to survey questions were statistically analyzed against their VR performance using ANOVA and Chi‐Square. Sixty‐nine 1 8–24 year old college students (female N = 37; male N = 32) served as the sample population. Results suggest that the describability of landmarks provided a positive influence to route communication. Post hoc analyses revealed that participants using describable landmarks (DL) had a significantly lower (faster) total time than those with no landmarks (NL). Several gender relationships were found in this study. In the NL condition, males re‐read less frequently compared to females; while males re‐read in greater proportion than females in the non‐describable landmark (NDL) condition. In the NL condition, females visited more sub‐areas than males; whereas females visited fewer sub‐areas in the DL and NDL conditions. This study provides valuable conclusions about wayfinding that can be applicable in the design of schools, dormitories, and other facilities used primarily by young adults.