Having looked at all the photographs repeatedly I have decided to investigate two photographs as a comparative excessive.  The first is the photo of the group of young men sitting at individual desks, but in a group.

To begin analysis I will start by highlighting the uses of space.  The male group are all sitting with their backs to each other and are not connected by any shared work or materials crossing into each other's space.  Each individual appears to be focused on their work and their body language is very closed and contained within a minimum amount of space.  Their heads are bowed very close to the table and they have minimal belongings. The males also have no jackets or other belongings on the chairs seen, however, the middle right character has some clothing on the desk in front of him.  The person on the right of the screen has a personal device, which may be a music player or phone.


The second photograph is a group of young women working in a group.

The female group have spread themselves out, using the whole table and extra floor space.  This group is also studying and concentrating, however, this is done in a less closed way.  They have food and a bottle, bags on the floor and jackets hanging on the backs of their chairs.  They are also all writing and appear to be working together.  However, they are not any more connected than the boys.  In fact they have spread themselves out further than  necessary and further than the males have to each other.  However, they have connected with each other using their work materials, which touch and overlap, making it difficult to determine an individual's space.   

  

Despite the fact that each group has a similar number of individuals and both are using pen and paper to study rather than a computer there are some very obvious differences between the two groups.  Gender may be a factor in this, but there are also several others to be taken into consideration.  The subject each group is studying,  each group's familiarity with each other, their familiarity with the room and the behavioral norms expected within it and their confidence in the assigned tasks may also influence the group or individual's behavior.  The female group have taken over the only study area within this room that is designed for groups and is without any computers.  The male group are almost huddled together and taking up minimal room in comparison, however, this may be to leave the computers available for other users.