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IPM Research Seminar: "Researching Places"
Thursday 24th March, 3-5pm
Online via Zoom or
In person at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School G.34
Register to attend via Zoom or in person
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This latest IPM research seminar explores a range of methods for investigating places, from big data to machine learning, to creative comic books and multi-sensory methods.
*Open to Members and those interested in joining the Institute. Join the Institute from £50 per year and access this webinar.
Including contributions from researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University and Mahidol University, Thailand, the agenda will take in diverse place topics such as assessing the atmosphere of seaside towns, co-creating place brands, travel to politically-unstable locations, property prices, and the experience of walking with a baby.
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Agenda
Thursday 24th March, 3-5pm
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School G.34
Or, via Zoom
Dr Viriya Taecharungroj, Associate Professor in Marketing, Mahidol University, Thailand
Google Maps amenities and condominium prices: Investigating the effects and relationships using machine learning
This research investigated the importance of neighbourhood amenities on condominium prices in Bangkok, Thailand, as the first to utilise data from Google Maps to assess and predict condominium prices. In total, 285 factors of 95 types of amenities were analysed. Two ML algorithms — eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) and random forest — were used to assess the large number of factors instead of traditional hedonic modelling.
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Dr Louise Platt, Senior Lecturer in Festival and Event Management, MMU
“Being an outside mum”: Diagramming the Time-Geographies of women walking with babies
Though walking with a baby as a mother may seem mundane, it is an emotionally and logistically complex practice. A gendered analysis is required to work towards solutions for wellbeing and equitable access to walkable spaces. This research, drawing on time-geography as method, will test how diagramming in comic book form might facilitate a more substantive understanding of walking as a distinctive, spatiotemporal experience of mothering.
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Prof Mihalis Kavaratzis, Professor of Place Marketing, MMU
Understanding place brand co-creation through photo-based interviews
This presentation reports on a study that explored the co-creation of place brands focusing on city residents. The visual methodology of auto-driven photo elicitation was employed with twenty participant-driven, photo-based interviews in four European cities. The study takes place branding beyond promoting a single dominant narrative of the city and sheds light on co-creation processes within a complex environment of physical interactions, information exchange and constant re-evaluation of meaning.
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Dr Erisher Woyo, Lecturer, MMU
Tourists' travel intentions to a familiar distressed destination
I will present the analysis of travel behaviour to a destination in distress. This presentation seeks to unpack what drives repeat travel to a destination labelled politically unstable, and see if familiarity with the destination explains some of the reasons why tourists still visit such places. This study seeks to test a theoretical model using quantitative data from international tourists to a distressed destination. PLS-SEM will be used to test the model and its hypothetical relationships.
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Dr Chloe Steadman, Lecturer in Marketing, MMU
Using multi-sensory methods to study Blackpool North Pier’s atmospheres
It has been recognised how place atmospheres are difficult to pin down and empirically investigate. In this presentation, therefore, I draw on ongoing research exploring Blackpool’s North Pier to demonstrate the value of multi-sensory methods for researching atmospheres, including participant observation, soundwalks, photography, and videography. In addition to offering honest reflections on the challenges faced using such techniques.
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IPM Research Seminar: "Researching Places"
Thursday 24th March, 3-5pm
Online via Zoom or
In person at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School G.34
Register to attend via Zoom or in person
About the author
Formed in 2006, the Institute of Place Management is the international professional body that supports people committed to developing, managing and making places better.