A model of students' daily activity patterns

A model is described whose purpose is to predict the distribution of students in different activities and locations during the course of a typical day, depending on the effective restrictions imposed by the spatial distribution of buildings and sites, and by administrative and social constraints on the timing of activities. The model is of an entropy-maximising type; the data against which it is tested are drawn from time budget surveys made in two universities, using diary methods. A series of exploratory experiments made with the model are reported; these are designed to test the effects of alternative planning and administrative policies on activity patterns and the use of facilities.