Public Bikesharing in North America During a Period of Rapid Expansion: Understanding Business Models, Industry Trends & User Impacts, MTI Report 12-29

Public bikesharing—the shared use of a bicycle fleet—is an innovative transportation strategy that has recently emerged in major cities around the world, including North America. Information technology (IT)-based bikesharing systems typically position bicycles throughout an urban environment, among a network of docking stations, for immediate access. Trips can be one-way, round-trip, or both, depending on the operator. Bikesharing can serve as a first-and-last mile connector to other modes, as well as for both short and long distance destinations. In 2012, 22 IT-based public bikesharing systems were operating in the United States, with a total of 884,442 users and 7,549 bicycles. Four IT-based programs in Canada had a total of 197,419 users and 6,115 bicycles. Two IT-based programs in Mexico had a total of 71,611 users and 3,680 bicycles. (Membership numbers reflect the total number of short- and long-term users.) This study evaluates public bikesharing in North America, reviewing the change in travel behavior exhibited by members of different programs in the context of their business models and operational environment. This Phase II research builds on data collected during our Phase I research conducted in 2012. During the 2012 research (Phase I), researchers conducted 14 expert interviews with industry experts and public officials in the United States and Canada, as well as 19 interviews with the manager and/or key staff of IT-based bikesharing organizations. For more information on the Phase I research, please see the Shaheen et al., 2012 report Public Bikesharing in North America: Early Operator and User Understanding. For this Phase II study, an additional 23 interviews were conducted with IT-based bikesharing organizations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico in Spring 2013. Notable developments during this period include the ongoing expansion of public bikesharing in North America, including the recent launches of multiple large bikesharing programs in the United States (i.e., Citi Bike in New York City, Divvy in Chicago, and Bay Area Bike Share in the San Francisco Bay Area). In addition to expert interviews, the authors conducted two kinds of surveys with bikesharing users. One was the online member survey. This survey was sent to all people for whom the operator had an email address.The population of this survey was mainly annual members of the bikesharing system, and the members took the survey via a URL link sent to them from the operator. The second survey was an on-street survey. This survey was designed for anyone, including casual users (i.e., those who are not members of the system and use it on a short-term basis), to take “on-street” via a smartphone. The member survey was deployed in five cities: Montreal, Toronto, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and Mexico City. The on-street survey was implemented in three cities: Boston, Salt Lake City, and San Antonio

Book Reviews

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

“We Do More Than Discuss Good Ideas”: A Close Look at the Development of Professional Capital in an Elementary Education Liaison Group

In an era when many news media, policy makers, and professionals in the field may consider teacher education under attack, teacher education programs are being held accountable for increased rigor (Council of Chief of State School Officers, 2012). Teacher educators are in a unique position to examine more closely specific practices and teacher education as a profession to enhance program quality and candidate outcomes. Toward that end, we focused on work within a community of practice (Wenger, 1998) for this inquiry. Faculty who work in elementary school settings at least one day per week, serving as liaisons to partner schools and supervising teacher candidates, made up this community

Back to the Future: Re‐Examining the Need for Shelf‐Ready Processes in the E‐Book Environment

Shelf‐ready processing of print materials is a commonly available service from library book vendors, and many libraries outsource these services in order to help save staff time and costs, and to expedite the process. However, in the age where print monographs are increasingly replaced with e‐books, do these services still make fiscal sense? In the spring of 2015, the Texas Woman’s University Libraries were looking to expand shelf‐ready services to a second vendor, but before doing so opted to do a feasibility study to see if shelf‐ready services were still needed and economical. This paper presents the findings of a two‐month study done at the Texas Woman’s University Libraries on their outsourced and in‐house cataloging workflows. The study examined the amount of time it took to receive the materials after ordering, the various costs involved, including shelf‐ready fees and internal staff costs, as well as the number of print materials being purchased over the past three fiscal years

Evaluation of the reliability and validity of the Medical Outcomes Study sleep scale in patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy during an international clinical trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sleep is an important element of functioning and well-being. The Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale (MOS-Sleep) includes 12 items assessing sleep disturbance, sleep adequacy, somnolence, quantity of sleep, snoring, and awakening short of breath or with a headache. A sleep problems index, grouping items from each of the former domains, is also available. This study evaluates the psychometric properties of MOS-Sleep Scale in a painful diabetic peripheral neuropathic population based on a clinical trial conducted in six countries.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Clinical data and health-related quality of life data were collected at baseline and after 12 weeks of follow-up. Overall, 396 patients were included in the analysis. Psychometric properties of the MOS-Sleep were assessed in the overall population and per country when the sample size was sufficient. Internal consistency reliability was assessed by Cronbach's alpha; the structure of the instrument was assessed by verifying item convergent and discriminant criteria; construct validity was evaluated by examining the relationships between MOS-Sleep scores and sleep interference and pain scores, and SF-36 scores; effect-sizes were used to assess the MOS-Sleep responsiveness. The study was conducted in compliance with United States Food and Drug Administration regulations for informed consent and protection of patient rights.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.71 to 0.81 for the multi-item dimensions and the sleep problems index. Item convergent and discriminant criteria were satisfied with item-scale correlations for hypothesized dimensions higher than 0.40 and tending to exceed the correlations of items with other dimensions, respectively. Taken individually, German, Polish and English language versions had good internal consistency reliability and dimension structure. Construct validity was supported with lower sleep adequacy score and greater sleep problems index scores associated with measures of sleep interference and pain scores. In addition, correlations between the SF-36 scores and the MOS-Sleep scores were low to moderate, ranging from -0.28 to -0.53. Responsiveness was supported by effect sizes > 0.80 for patients who improved according to the mean sleep interference and pain scores and clinician and patient global impression of change (p < 0.0001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The MOS-Sleep had good psychometric properties in this painful diabetic peripheral neuropathic population.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>As this study was conducted from 2000 to 2002 (i.e., before the filing requirement came out), no trial registration number is available.</p

Divide & Concur: Separate Opinions & Legal Change

To the extent concurring opinions elicit commentary at all, it is largely contempt. They are condemned for muddying the clarity of the law, fracturing the court, and diminishing the authoritative voice of the majority. But what if this neglect, or even disdain, of concurring opinions is off the mark? In this article, we argue for the importance of concurring opinions, demonstrating how they serve as the pulse and compass of legal change. Concurring opinions let us know what is happening below the surface of the law, thereby encouraging litigants to push the law in particular directions. This is particularly true of a type of concurrence we identify here for the frst time: the pivotal concurrence. Pivotal concurrences occur when one or more members of a court majority also choose to write separately, undercutting the majority\u27s rule in the case. Under the Supreme Court\u27s rule of fve, lower courts ought to disregard pivotal concurrences and adhere to the majority opinion. But as we show here, that is hardly the case. Utilizing a dataset created for this purpose, we demonstrate that pivotal concurrences are more common than one might think, are becoming yet more so, and-despite the Supreme Court\u27s admonition to the contrary-are taken quite seriously by lower courts. Especially in constitutional, salient cases, lower courts appear to disregard a binding majority opinion in favor of the path offered by the concurrence. Rather than condemning this, we rely on the historical development of concurrences to show the vitalfunction they play in motivating and smoothing the way for legal change. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we argue, there is beauty in a fractured court. Precisely in those cases that are most high-stakes and most contentious, it is inportant that the Justices reveal their individual views. Those views send essential signals to litigants and lawyers about where legal change is possible and where it is not, helping both to temper expectations and to move the law itself

Divide & Concur: Separate Opinions & Legal Change

To the extent concurring opinions elicit commentary at all, it is largely contempt. They are condemned for muddying the clarity of the law, fracturing the court, and diminishing the authoritative voice of the majority. But what if this neglect, or even disdain, of concurring opinions is off the mark? In this article, we argue for the importance of concurring opinions, demonstrating how they serve as the pulse and compass of legal change. Concurring opinions let us know what is happening below the surface of the law, thereby encouraging litigants to push the law in particular directions. This is particularly true of a type of concurrence we identify here for the frst time: the pivotal concurrence. Pivotal concurrences occur when one or more members of a court majority also choose to write separately, undercutting the majority\u27s rule in the case. Under the Supreme Court\u27s rule of fve, lower courts ought to disregard pivotal concurrences and adhere to the majority opinion. But as we show here, that is hardly the case. Utilizing a dataset created for this purpose, we demonstrate that pivotal concurrences are more common than one might think, are becoming yet more so, and-despite the Supreme Court\u27s admonition to the contrary-are taken quite seriously by lower courts. Especially in constitutional, salient cases, lower courts appear to disregard a binding majority opinion in favor of the path offered by the concurrence. Rather than condemning this, we rely on the historical development of concurrences to show the vitalfunction they play in motivating and smoothing the way for legal change. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we argue, there is beauty in a fractured court. Precisely in those cases that are most high-stakes and most contentious, it is inportant that the Justices reveal their individual views. Those views send essential signals to litigants and lawyers about where legal change is possible and where it is not, helping both to temper expectations and to move the law itself