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Optimizing Service Areas To Reduce Congestion And Enhance Equity In Access To Transportation Systems, Daniel Rodríguez-Román, José López-Martínez, Alberto M. Figueroa-Medina, Carlos Del Valle González

Research Reports

This report presents optimization-based methods for the design of transportation service areas. The contribution of this report is twofold. First, optimization models are presented for service area design problems that simultaneously account for the goals of system operators and users, with particular emphasis on the objectives of reducing congestion and enhancing equity-in-access to transportation services. The models account for spatial coverage constraints that are specified in real-world situations to ensure equitable access to transportation services. Two service area design applications are considered. In the first application, the problem of designing transit routes and the accompanying paratransit service area is examined. …

Measuring Access Using Crowdsourced Travel Behavior Data: The Easy Button To Real Access And Equity?, Phil Lasley, Olivia Wang, Jack Kong, Jordan Gregory, Carly Venditti

Research Reports

Integrating accessibility into transportation planning seeks to improve policy and programming decisions that ensure congestion mitigation measures, encourage transportation equity, and improve urban livability. Traditional accessibility measures and methods have largely focused on modeling and/or estimation procedures, displaying a hypothetical universe of access—not where travel actually occurs. This research developed a suite of measures to assess accessibility, taking advantage of available crowdsourced origin- destination data to identify accessibility from real data rather than a modeled approach. The measures are calculated for all U.S. urban areas to inform congestion-mitigation decision-making based on actual travel behaviors. The results of this work will …

Validating The Correlation Between Illuminance, Nighttime Crash Frequency And Demographic Characteristics On Roadway Segments In District 7, Florida, Aditi Sugeerappa Hoti

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For a long time, streetlights have proved to be an effective tool to help users access roads safely. Hindrance to good visibility at nighttime has been attributed to accidents on the road. Florida is considered to have very dangerous roads due to careless driving which increases as nighttime approaches. Much empirical research has contributed to the attention nighttime crashes receive. This study examines the influence of roadway characteristics along with socio-economic factors on crashes through statistical and spatial analysis of roadway segments in Tampa Bay Region. Illuminance data, crash data and socio-economic data for roadways facing nighttime crashes under low-illuminance …

Using Social Network Analysis To Measure And Visualize Student Clustering Within Middle And High Schools, Geoffrey David West

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dominant philosophy of American public schools has been to group students together based on similar characteristics. Known as tracking, high achieving students would take courses on the “college track” while others would take “career track” courses. It was not long until advocates noticed that this process unfairly advantaged affluent and White student over poor and minoritized groups. A new process called “ability grouping” took over where tracking left off, but to the same effect. It is difficult to measure the degree students are grouped together by a certain characteristic, and while a few research papers aim to do so, …

Advancing Equity And Congestion Relief: An Investigation Of On-Demand Shared Rides For Underserved Populations, Ipek Nese Sener, Austin Sibu, Audrey Cabay

Research Reports

Transportation network companies (TNCs) and microtransit are changing the way people travel by providing dynamic, on-demand mobility that can supplement public transit and personal vehicle use. However, heavy use of such motorized vehicles among all sociodemographic populations could contribute to increased vehicle miles traveled, congestion, and/or greenhouse gas emissions. To balance the objectives of increasing mobility and access for underserved communities while simultaneously mitigating the potential adverse impacts of increased motor vehicle use, well-designed policy strategies, such as pooling and first-mile/last-mile linkages, are needed. In this study, we applied a mixed-method approach to examine on-demand transportation services for underserved populations …

Catalyzing Change For Equitable Participation, Liza Bondurant, Seema Rivera

Journal of Practitioner Research

This manuscript discusses the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycles designed to help math teacher-researchers (TRs) create more equitable discourse patterns in their classrooms. Before the first cycle, TRs were asked to complete gender and race implicit assessment tests (IATs). Then, TRs planned and recorded a video of themselves facilitating a math discussion. Next, math teacher educators (MTEs) used the Equity QUantified In Participation (EQUIP) classroom observation instrument to code and analyze the discussion. Subsequently, TRs had an opportunity to reflect on the EQUIP and IAT results and set goals for making their teaching practices more equitable. MTEs provided guidance …

A Qualitative Study Of Facilitators And Barriers Perceived By Black Students And Their Effect On Advanced Placement Course Enrollment In High School, Austin R. Cole

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Advanced Placement (AP) classes can provide many benefits to students. The rigorous curriculum gives students an academic challenge to expand their educational abilities (The College Board, 2014). However, students of color are often underrepresented in AP participation (The College Board, 2014). Research has investigated factors among students of color that predict participation and success in AP courses, suggesting that family SES and prior academic achievement (Dixson et al., 2017; Ndura et al., 2003), and racial barriers impact students’ ability to choose to take AP courses (Jeffries & Silvernail, 2017; Walker & Pearsall, 2012). This study addressed a gap in the …

Feasibility Of A Regional Transportation Systems Management And Operations (Tsmo) Program, Kristine M. Williams, Jeff Kramer, Tia Boyd, Taylor Dinehart

Research Reports

To address new and changing forms of congestion and technological advances for Transportation Systems Management & Operations (TSMO) in the 21st century, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) will need to evolve in terms of their purpose and relationship within a megaregion or corridor. This report is the culmination of a multiyear effort to provide the Central Florida TSMO working group with a framework on how MPOs can collaborate within a megaregion to advance TSMO in the planning process. The project included a literature review, case examples of multi-MPO and multi-state collaborations in TSMO, and interviews with agencies engaged in regional TSMO …

Advancing Social Equity And Congestion Relief: Understanding The Travel Needs Of Underserved Populations That Rely On Transportation Network Companies In The San Francisco Bay Area, Susan Shaheen, Kate Gosselin, Jacquelyn Broader, Adam Cohen

Research Reports

Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) enable travelers to order and pay for rides on-demand using an online application that connects them with drivers using their personal vehicles. While these modes present opportunities to increase individual mobility and access, they also can worsen congestion and increase vehicle emissions. Researchers explored factors impacting the willingness to use pooled TNCs and identified strategies/policies that could be employed to reduce congestion from TNC use. Researchers conducted a literature review, interviews with TNC experts, semi-structured interviews with lower-income, non-White TNC users, and small group discussions with lower- income, non-White TNC users. This research resulted in several …

Equitable Implementation Of The Good Behavior Game, Faith D. Reynolds

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Exclusionary discipline actions in schools (e.g., suspension, expulsion) are related to short- and long-term negative outcomes for students. For the past several decades, Black students have received disproportionate disciplinary actions in schools compared to their peers. Classroom behavior interventions are an alternative practice to traditional disciplinary actions and are important tools for reducing overall levels of exclusionary discipline. It is imperative to ensure equitable implementation is being used within these behavior interventions to support all students in the classroom. The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a widely used classroom behavior intervention that has been described as a universal behavioral vaccine. …

Transportation Equity Curriculum: Guidance Document, Tia Boyd, Kristine M. Williams, Carolyn Mcandrews, Yicong Yang, Anurag Pande, Shams Tanvir

Transportation Planning, Policy, and Processes (TP3) Final Reports

Transportation is needed to access jobs, food, health care, recreational and open spaces, and other important services and destinations. Equity in transportation planning helps to ensure equal access to affordable and reliable transportation, as well as fairness in the distribution of its benefits and burdens. Without inclusive processes, transportation planning can overlook the needs of and negatively impact low-income communities, minorities, persons with disabilities, older adults, children, and other traditionally underserved populations.

Many agencies and communities across the nation are seeking to address equity concerns and encourage livability, economic growth, and active transportation. Planning and transportation professionals must understand how …

Implementing Diversity Training Targeting Faculty Microaggressions And Inclusion: Practical Insights And Initial Findings, Ellen Ernst Kossek, Patrice M. Buzzanell, Brittany J. Wright, Cassondra Batz-Barbarich, Amy C. Moors, Charlene Sullivan, Klod Kokini, Andrew S. Hirsch, Kayla Maxey, Ankita Nikalje

Communication Faculty Publications

Despite the importance of faculty diversity training for advancing an inclusive society, little research examines whether participation improves inclusion perceptions and belongingness. Integrating training and diversity education literature concepts, this study examines the effectiveness of training targeting microaggressions in six STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) oriented departments at a research-intensive university. Reactions data collected at the end of face-to-face training suggested that participation generally increased inclusion understanding. Self-assessments on inclusion concepts collected from 45% of participants before and three weeks after training suggest participation increases perceptions of the importance of inclusion, microaggression allyship awareness, inclusive behaviors, and organizational identification. Compared …

Enhancing Equity And Access In Dockless Micromobility Services: Case Study, Performance Metrics And Rebalancing Model, Daniel Rodríguez-Román, Alberto M. Figueroa-Medina, Benjamín Colucci-Ríos, Carlos Del Valle González

Research Reports

A case study of the Mayagüez dockless e-scooter service (MDES) is presented. The objectives of the case study were to i) explore the characteristics of MDES users and nonusers, ii) examine the relationship between the sociodemographic characteristic of the study area and observed trip levels, iii) propose spatial access indicators and apply them in the MDES service area, and iv) discuss the equity in spatial access and the congestion reduction potential of MDES. This analysis provides insights on a micromobility system that operates in a congested, auto-centric city with limited public transportation alternatives. Among other things, the study found that …

An Ecology Of Learning: Secondary Mathematics Teacher Candidate Learning While Co-Teaching In Early Clinical Practice, Cynthia A. Castro-Minnehan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have called for more empirical research exploring better ways to organize clinical practice around teacher candidate (TC) learning and the coursework-fieldwork gap. This study responds to their call by exploring secondary mathematics TC learning in early clinical placements that use co-teaching. Further, this study views co-teaching in clinical practice through the lens of an activity system. An activity system conceptualizes co-teaching in clinical practice as a complex learning environment or a learning ecology. This study uses a convergent mixed methods design. Findings reveal evidence of TC learning of eight key practices associated with co-teaching in their early clinical placements. …

Understanding Curb Management And Targeted Incentive Policies To Increase Transportation Network Company Pooling And Public Transit Linkages, Susan Shaheen, Wesley Darling, Jacquelyn Broader, Adam Cohen

Research Reports

Transportation network company (TNCs) rides that are shared amongst users (i.e., pooled) can offer a variety of benefits including increased mobility and reduced transportation emissions. However, very few TNC users select pooled trips and not all pooled rides are matched with other riders. This report supports increased pooling by exploring different pooling strategies and incentives. TNC users were actively engaged to offer insights through the photovoice methodology (a participatory research method that allows community members to use photography to communicate their personal experiences and perceptions). The researchers gathered further information through interviews with four photovoice experts and 10 pooling stakeholders, …

Awareness, Advocacy, And Activism: A Self-Study Of Social Justice Supervision Of Secondary Science Teacher Candidates, Stephanie A. Arthur

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the demographics of public K-12 schools continue to shift towards a wider representation including students of color and students from low-income households, it is critical for new secondary science teachers entering the field to be prepared to teach science that is culturally responsive to their students’ needs and communities. As teacher candidates continue their pedagogical growth while in their final clinical internships in high-needs schools, there is great potential for the university supervisor to support their development within a social justice framework. By encouraging and supporting teacher candidates to include culturally responsive approaches in the biology, chemistry, physics, and …

Educators’ Sensemaking Of Data Within An Mtss Framework: An Exploratory Case Study, Stephanie Marie Green

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how educators working within a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework make sense of data, how they use data for instructional decision-making, and how the data use cultures at the district and school levels influence this data use. The study was designed with a theoretical framework informed by the sensemaking about student outcomes model (Bertrand & Marsh, 2015), the data literacy for teaching framework (Mandinach & Gummer, 2016c), and the data use cultures framework (Firestone & Gonzales, 2007). I explored these issues through a case study methodology, utilizing semi-structured interviews, observations, document …

Course Design And Academic Outcomes In Quantitative Literacy After Eliminating Required Remediation, Jennifer E. Clinkenbeard

Numeracy

In Fall 2018, remedial mathematics courses were eliminated from the 23-campus California State University system under Executive Order 1110. Incoming first-year students were placed into college credit-bearing mathematics courses with options for corequisite support. This study examines the academic outcomes for students at California State University Monterey Bay in a college credit level quantitative literacy (QL) mathematics course with optional corequisite support during the 2018-2019 academic year. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that required remediation is not necessary for success in college-level QL. The corequisite support model also has potential to support more equitable outcomes for all …

Equitable Mathematics Classroom Discourse, Liza Bondurant

Journal of Practitioner Research

In this article the author shares a self-study investigation into how the quality of talk and opportunities to participate are distributed across individual students based on race and gender in her college math class. Readers will learn how to conduct a similar investigation in their classroom. A discussion of ways to use the information gathered from equitable mathematics classroom discourse investigations will follow.

Integrating Equity Into Mpo Project Prioritization, Kristine M. Williams, Jeff Kramer, Yaye Keita, Lucy Deba Enomah, Tia Boyd

Transportation Planning, Policy, and Processes (TP3) Final Reports

Transportation investments shape communities and quality of life by influencing the ability of residents to safely and conveniently access employment, health care, recreation, shopping, and other services. When identifying needs and selecting projects for funding, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) must consider multiple factors and balance their investments among competing interests and priorities. Achieving an equitable balance among these factors and interests is critical because of the competitive nature of MPO planning and programming processes and the importance of each factor in enhancing the transportation system of the region. Identifying and selecting projects that promote equity and access to opportunity is …

Reducing Underrepresentation: Promising Practices In Florida, Catherine A. Mullins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I examined representation rates of gifted students from diverse backgrounds in Florida county school districts. Florida state legislation governing gifted student education allows for alternative identification methods to be used for students from underrepresented groups if plans for such identification are approved by the Florida Department of Education; however, this option, informally referred to as “Plan B” after subsection B of the legislation governing gifted services, is not a requirement that districts must follow. Consequently, there are large differences in the ways districts identify underrepresented students for gifted services. State legislation identifies underrepresented populations as students with …

Sundaas Story: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Household Sanitation Provisioning In Urban Informal Housing In India, Sarita Vijay Panchang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aims of this research were to examine sanitation insecurity in urban informal housing through the lens of the built environment, social disparities, and health implications. While the Millennium Development Goals for halving the global proportion of people without access to safe drinking water were met ahead of schedule, progress fell short for sanitation, creating new objectives for the Sustainable Development Goals to be met in 2030. Much research in the Global South is dedicated to community-level sanitation promotion, but often presumes a rural rather than urban setting. Urban informal housing settings constitute a unique challenge due to the range …

Making A Case For Equity Planning In Transportation Development: Identifying Indicators And Building A Framework For Hillsborough County, Fl, Dayna J. Lazarus

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The idea that planners should work toward an equitable society has been part of the profession since the 1960s, largely based on the work of planning theorists like Paul Davidoff, Sherry Arnstein and Norman Krumholz. Transportation planning, however, has been slower than other sectors of the profession, such as housing, to embrace equity planning concepts. That has begun to change as concerns about income inequality, environmental justice and climate change have become more salient. This thesis makes the case that in order to improve social equity outcomes, transportation planners must make social equity an explicit goal and add social equity …

Weaved Journeys: Life Writings Of Leading And Engagement In Science Education, Tara M. Nkrumah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study’s purpose was to explore science engagement and in/equity through science educators’ narratives of servant leadership at both the K-12 and higher education levels in the United States. The research question was: How have participants become and led others to become engaged in science? I took an arts-based approach using drawings and autobiographical data to initiate and create metissages focused on becoming engaged in science education. The findings were that: (1) Participants helped marginalized students understand the culture of science through pedagogical strategies that connected self and science; (2) Participants recognized and countered systemic forms of oppression for students …

On "Icky" Data, The Political Classroom, And Towards Equity And Social Justice In Mathematics Education: A Conversation With Tonya Bartell, Samuel L. Tunstall, Oyemolade Osibodu, Tonya Gau Bartell

Numeracy

Tonya G. Bartell, ed. 2018. Towards Equity and Social Justice in Mathematics Education (Switzerland: Springer International Publishing) 341 pp. ISBN 978-3319929064.

This brief interview with Tonya Bartell introduces Towards Equity and Social Justice in Mathematics Education to the Numeracy audience. The interviewers also discuss with Tonya connections between quantitative literacy and mathematics for social justice, particularly in the context of US K-12 schooling. Tonya shares her perspective on topics ranging from the placement of quantitative literacy in K-12 mathematics education and how one might get started in incorporating a social justice lens into their teaching to paradigms for research …

Validating The Accuracy Of Neatwork, A Rural Gravity Fed Water Distribution System Design Program, Using Field Data In The Comarca Ngöbe-Bugle, Panama, Maria Briones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the sustainable development goals to increase access to improved water there are still 884 million people in the world without access to an improved water source (WHO, 2017). One method to improve access to water in rural, mountainous areas, is through construction of gravity fed water distribution systems. These systems should be designed based upon fundamental principles of hydraulics. One method of doing so in a time efficient manner with minimal engineering knowledge is to utilize a downloadable computer program such as Neatwork, which aids in design of rural, gravity fed water distribution systems and has been used by …

Fare Policy And Vertical Equity: The Trade-Off Between Affordability And Cost Recovery, Xavier J. Harmony

Journal of Public Transportation

Vertical equity and the maximization of farebox revenue are important but conflicting goals in the development of fare policy in the United States. Reducing fares for low-income riders reduces revenue for a transit agency, while increasing fares could disproportionately impact lower-income riders. This paper details this conflict, explores strategies that could account for both goals, and evaluates fare programs in the United States. Two types of low-income strategies are discussed: first generation strategies and targeted subsidy strategies. First generation strategies have several limitations that targeted subsidy strategies account for; first generation strategies focus more on supply, while targeted subsidy strategies …

Inquiry For Equity: Exploring The Impact Of Practitioner Research, Nancy Fichtman Dana, Elizabeth Currin

Journal of Practitioner Research

In this opening article, Guest Editors Nancy Fichtman Dana and Elizabeth Currin define the purpose of this special themed issue of Journal of Practitioner Research: Inquiry for Equity, and introduce the five pieces of teacher research published in this volume that encapsulate this theme. In addition, Dana and Currin look across this collective body of work to note important insights featured in this issue.

Early Childhood Mathematics Through A Social Justice Lens: An Autoethnography, Jennifer Ward

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this autoethnography was to explore the experiences, both successes and challenges, as I worked to teach mathematics using a social justice framework in a summer enrichment camp with four and five-year-old children. Drawing from both critical approaches (Freire, 1968) and sociocultural approaches (Rogoff, 2008), this dissertation outlines critical perspectives within Early Childhood Education, as well as trends in teaching mathematics for social justice to frame the research study. Autoethnography was selected as a methodological approach in this study as I examined my own teaching experiences and journey engaging in teaching mathematics for social justice. Primary data sources …

(Not) Everything Is Good And Easy: Language-Related Healthcare Experiences Of Two Groups Of Low-Income Latina Mothers, Aria Anna Walsh-Felz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This cross-sectional, comparative, qualitative study explored language-related issues experienced by low-income Spanish-speaking mothers navigating pediatric care for their children in Hillsborough County, Florida. Hospitals, pediatric clinics, specialists, and dental care have differing degrees of linguistic accessibility and accommodations for limited English proficient families. Two groups of mothers were interviewed: bilingual (n=9) and Spanish-speaking limited-English proficient (SSLEP) mothers (n=21). These groups perceived the effect of language on navigating pediatric healthcare differently, creating tension in perceptions and experience between them. Such tensions included SSLEP mothers expressing satisfaction with pediatric care simultaneously with shortcomings in communication. SSLEP mothers said that everything was easy, …