Elise Barrella

Performance Measurement Frameworks and Development of Effective Sustainable Transport Strategies and Indicators

This paper identifies seven attributes of robust performance measurement systems by analyzing five performance measurement frameworks and their use of transportation system performance indicators. The attributes are then used to examine three case studies from Europe and the United States to demonstrate the value of performance measurement frameworks for developing and improving sustainable transportation strategies and indicators. The case studies point to important considerations in formulating a robust sustainable transportation strategy at different levels of governance and also indicate the importance of ensuring alignment in an agencys vision, objectives, and monitoring systems. The characteristics of an effective framework for the development of sustainable transportation strategies include a comprehensive sustainability objective, a good connection to the goals and objectives of an agency, and vertical and horizontal integration. In addition, a framework should capture the interactions among variables, reflect stakeholder perspectives, and consider the capabilities and constraints of the agency and should be flexible to foster self-learning.

Backcasting for Sustainable Transportation Planning

Transportation problems are often sustainability problems and as such are complex, long-reaching, and difficult to address through incremental policies. Planning for these problems requires analyzing future conditions of the transportation system and the systems with which it interacts. Traditional futures studies using the forecasting method do not deal adequately with the uncertainty inherent in long-term studies of transportation problems. This paper reviews recent innovations in futures studies and their applications to planning studies for transportation system sustainability. The new methods, including scenario planning, backcasting (determining policy to meet future end point), and strategic sustainability assessment, involve both qualitative assessment and scientific models to create and analyze future states. In particular, the paper focuses on backcasting as an alternative to forecasting for scenario building and provides examples of how the method has been applied in the transportation sector. The review suggests that backcasting is a better option for analyzing transportation sustainability problems because it is an action-oriented approach focused on creating desirable future images and developing effective policies for achieving them.

Best Practices and Common Approaches for Considering Sustainability at U.S. State Transportation Agencies

Recent federal, state, and international initiatives suggest growing interest in the sustainability of transportation systems, environmentally, economically, socially, and otherwise. This paper explores commonalities and variations in sustainability activities and describes best practices in sustainable transportation planning and evaluation at state departments of transportation (DOTs) in the United States. A survey of the 50 state DOTs identified current policies, programs, and evaluation methods. With a 94% response rate, the survey results reflect well the range of practices at state DOTs. The survey shows that some state DOTs appreciate the importance of sustainability in their external and internal activities and can point to specific initiatives that demonstrate their interest in sustainability. However, agencies clearly are focused on a range of activities and address sustainability at different levels of engagement. The survey results also reveal several general trends driven largely by federal requirements and state or regional priorities. Each DOT has a unique package of policies or programs, but all state DOTs point to their environmental planning activities as evidence of sustainable practices. Overall, DOTs in the Pacific division are most active in sustainable transportation practices, while those in the Northeast are particularly active in climate change planning and land use planning. Based on the survey responses and supporting literature, a national policy on sustainable transportation may provide guidance for state DOTs and other transportation agencies on specific elements of sustainable transportation, but it will need to be flexible to allow DOTs to address local issues and priorities.

Using Concept Maps to Explore the Impacts of a Learning-Cycle-Based Sustainability Module Implemented in Two Institutional Contexts

AbstractBecause engineers are responsible for the design phase of projects where decisions impacting sustainability are most effectively made, it is important to ensure that students are equipped with the necessary conceptual knowledge to engage in sustainable design. Consequently, undergraduate engineering curricula are being reformed to address sustainability-related concepts and topics. In addition, previous work has demonstrated that beyond curricular content, innovative pedagogical approaches are also important for enhancing student learning. The goal of this work was to examine the impact of a learning-cycle-based sustainability module on students’ conceptual understanding of sustainability in two varying institutional contexts. The module was integrated into the first course in the capstone design sequence at James Madison University, where sustainability was incorporated throughout the curriculum. The module was also integrated into a capstone design course at the Georgia Institute of Technology, ...

Evaluating Sustainability Approaches of Transportation Agencies Through a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Framework

A national survey of state departments of transportation (DOTs) indicated that such agencies were engaged in a variety of activities to address sustainability issues associated with transportation planning, design, and operations. These activities ranged from piecemeal environmental practices such as roadside mowing policies to comprehensive planning frameworks. However, state DOTs in general did not have sufficient policies or practices in place to evaluate and prioritize investment options that would promote environmental sustainability and sustainable development. For this research, a mixed-methods design that used an expert panel and case studies of individual state DOTs was used to develop, test, and evaluate a strategic planning tool that could help DOTs evolve more sustainable practices. The self-assessment tool was designed to guide agencies through the identification of internal strengths and weaknesses in their planning frameworks and organizational structure and culture, characterization of features of the external environment as opportunities or threats, prioritization of areas for strategy development, and development of strategies that link the internal and external environments. Such a tool can also be used to monitor progress over time. The tool was tested by seven state DOTs. Three prominent themes were revealed: the importance of process in addition to content, integration between sustainability policies and implementation, and internal communication of the need and nature of change. The results of this study and of previous research suggest that the sustainability approaches of DOTs are at various levels of maturity and the compartmentalization of sustainability within the organizations is characteristic of earlier maturity levels.

Corporate Assessment of Strategic Issues in Technology Management

Abstract: Through a discussion of both current literature and the results of a new study described here, this article contributes to an understanding of the gap that exists between what employers in technology-based industries expect of new hires and the skill sets those new hires actually possess. As the pace of technological change increases, current managers and new graduates must be comfortable with managing and interacting with new technologies and the people charged with their implementation. In the case of new graduates, current literature reveals that employers are particularly dissatisfied with their ability to communicate technical topics, which is vitally important for effective business operations. A study focused on recent hires, managers, and executives familiar with Bucknell Universitys Institute for Leadership in Technology and Management (ILTM, 2003) corroborated these findings as well as identifying other areas of concern. A manager in a technology-based industry can use this article both to develop strategies for coping with existing problems and to identify ways that corporations can actively become involved in the education process to help close the gap between expectations and reality.

Comparing the outcomes of horizontal and vertical integration of sustainability content into engineering curricula using concept maps

The goal of this project was to compare the conceptual sustainability knowledge of students at two institutions that differ in their approaches of integrating sustainability into curricula. One institution is a research-intensive university that has implemented a sustainability-focused course (vertical integration), and the second is a teaching-focused university that has woven sustainability into a variety of classes across its curriculum (horizontal integration). At both institutions, students beginning their capstone design experience created concept maps (cmaps) on the focus question: “What is sustainability?” Structure of student knowledge was analyzed using the traditional cmap scoring method, while specific content was evaluated using word clouds. Results support that students engaging in the curriculum with horizontal integration demonstrated broader, deeper, and more connected knowledge than students enrolled in the vertically-integrated curriculum. Furthermore, students participating in the horizontally-integrated curriculum demonstrated a more balanced understanding of sustainability, with the often-neglected social dimension being significantly represented in their cmaps, as compared to students from the vertically-integrated curriculum. Economic sustainability was a common weakness.

Converging on sustainable placemaking through transdisciplinary process

This research examines the first phase of a multiyear initiative about “sustainable placemaking” processes at a mid-size university in a small US city. The study focuses upon the rhetoric used by five faculty members representing the industrial design, engineering, geography, art history, and political science disciplines who have begun to develop a sustainable design working group whose mission is to produce sustainable design and design process alternatives for the redevelopment of a street connecting the university to the community. Integrating symbolic convergence theory and dialogue theory from communication studies with theory about transdisciplinary approaches to sustainable development, the research describes the extent to which the group achieved transdisciplinary function and articulates how co-creating meaning around sustainable placemaking shaped group processes and outcomes. Findings indicate that shared experiences of “place” and tensions amongst rhetorical boundaries play key roles. Analysis produces lessons learned for similar groups interested in transcending disciplinary boundaries when addressing sustainable development problems.

A developmental and adaptive Problem Based Learning (PBL) model across the curriculum: From theory to practice in integrating and assessing PBL experiences across the James Madison University engineering curriculum

Problem-solving is generally regarded as the most important cognitive activity in everyday and professional practice. Problems in real-world practice have been described as messy, complex, and ill-structured, whereas many engineering classroom problems have been described as well-structured with single correct solutions. How do we prepare our students for real-world problem solving? In this collaborative and participant-centered workshop, faculty will be introduced to a novel and adaptive Problem-Based Learning (PBL) model developed and implemented in JMUs Engineering program over the past eight years and supported by NSF awards. Participants will be provided with PBL theory, PBL examples, a PBL classification framework, assessment tools, and a PBL template for use across courses and curricula.

Monitoring brain waves in an effort to investigate student's cognitive load during a variety of problem solving scenarios

This paper focuses on understanding cognitive load, cognitive flexibility, cognitive efficiency, and their implications for learning. Cognitive load is commonly defined to be the total amount of mental effort that is being used by the working memory at a given time. Recently, researchers have shown that an Electroencephalograph (EEG) can be a reliable tool to measure the cognitive load that one may experience while performing various tasks. We used this knowledge as the basis for a two-phase study, the goal of which is to establish a mapping of cognitive load throughout the engineering design process, so that we may highlight the key differences between novice engineering students and advanced engineering students. During the first phase of this study we evaluated the B-Alert EEG systems ability to measure cognitive load in problem solving situations. Sophomore and senior engineering students solved engineering problems of varying complexity while connected to the B-Alert system. From the collected data, we are able to see a relationship between problem difficulty and cognitive load experienced. Further analysis of the collected data is needed to identify metrics that may be used to evaluate ones cognitive flexibility and cognitive efficiency. The second phase of this study will focus on analyzing the same cognitive functions as both novice and advanced engineering students solve design problems, which tend to be complex and open-ended in nature.