to teachers are pertinent to the kind of research that can be done. The knowledge systems of the University must be studied and its resources defined before research can be identified or competence assessed. One of the ways the University can relate to real life is by attempting to define what its resources are. At Montreal a system analysis has been carried out over the past (Dean Desbarats) four years on the curriculum. A major source of subjects for research projects was by the investigation of design failures. Other areas of research can be identified within the design process itself, when architects are required to make decisions that involve using prediction techniques. Similarly the development and refinement of existing research techniques was another source of research projects. (Professor Hardy) The context within which a research organisation finds itself has a direct influence on its aims. For example, the City of York had a conservation problem and it was only natural that the research programme of the Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies should relate to this. Similarly the situation within which they found themselves within a new developing University (Dr. Taylor) directed them into a research involvement in student housing. The Rothschild report identified three end products of research: Products Process Operations We should be particularly concerned with the operations end.
(Mr. Atkinson)
Objectives will be very different in developing countries. In Britain the existence and compilation of background data is taken for granted. In developing countries the first priority is to undertake research to establish information, e.g. the establishment of well spaced meteorological stations. Outside pressures also influence the direction of research, e.g. in Ghana it is Government policy to concentrate on developing rural areas of the country. As they are supported by (Mr. Larbi) the Government, their research will naturally follow this direction. In India, where the building of buildings as monuments still exists, the main priority is with the social and economic context. There is an increasing backlog of environmental needs. As there are no existing architectural research units in India, teachers try to develop research on their own. The magnitude of the problem can be illustrated by the fact that when communities were presented with new three room houses families chose to use one of these rooms exclusively (Professor Prakash) for religious ceremonies. As Mr. Buteux pointed Out in yesterday's session, there is a "fine line" between research and practice. We are all associated with teaching and this can be a valuable link. Teachers organise information in packages and present it to people. This process should not only be restricted to undergraduates. The field of mid-career education should be expanded. In this way the teacher can become an ideas' broker for the communication of research results. (Mr. Rodger) Page sixty-three
