Browsing by Subject "Performance measures"
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Item The costs of a growing city : a case study of Austin, Texas from 1982-2011(2013-05) Ellinor, Benjamin Daniel; Wilson, Robert HinesThis report explores the effects of rapid growth in Austin, Texas, with an emphasis on local government budgets, service delivery, and citizen satisfaction. The relationship between urban growth and public finances has been studied extensively, but a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between growth and public finances, service delivery performance, and citizen satisfaction over time is lacking. A multi-decade analysis reveals a steady increase in the cost of local government services and levels of taxation, with corresponding high performance and citizen satisfaction over time. In light of these findings, recommendations to improve cost-effectiveness, service delivery, and citizen satisfaction include: regular audits of the City’s performance measurement system to ensure the metrics tracked remain relevant to the challenges; better coordination of taxes and expenditures among local government entities to minimize the tax impact on residents; greater consideration of less costly alternative municipal service delivery systems; and concerted efforts to engage residents in the budget and service delivery decisions.Item Investigating the Effect of Freeway Congestion Thresholds on Decision-making Inputs(2011-10-21) Qu, TongbinCongestion threshold is embedded in the congestion definition. Two basic approaches exist in current practice for setting the congestion threshold. One common approach uses the ?free-flow? or unimpeded conditions as the congestion threshold. Another approach uses target or ?acceptable? conditions. The limited research that has been conducted on the congestion threshold issue focuses on operational problems or policy debates, but relatively little investigation of the effect on decision-making for transportation investment and resource allocation. This research investigated the differences inherent in the threshold choices using detailed freeway data from seven metropolitan areas. Congestion performance measures of delay per mile, Travel Time Index and Planning Time Index were evaluated. This research specifically examined: 1) the ranking values of congestion measure for different congestion thresholds under a variety of real-world travel time distributions, 2) the relationship between change of congestion threshold and change of performance measure, and 3) the appropriateness of using speed limit as a congestion threshold choice by evaluating the peak and off-peak average speed changes in relation to a speed limit change in Houston, Texas. The rankings of congestion measures for freeway segments hold steady across the congestion thresholds ranging from 60 mph to 30 mph and across the congestion measures. From an investment point of view, the congestion threshold speed used is not a concern for funding allocation. The relationship between the delay values for an alternative threshold and the 60 mph threshold has a quadratic form. As the alternative threshold decreases further away from 60 mph, the increment is larger. The more congested a section is, the less the threshold affects measured congestion. For very congested sections, most of the delay is associated with speeds below 30 mph. The posted speed limit affects travel time distribution in the free flow driving condition but does not affect travel time distribution during congested driving conditions. However, if the speed limit or a percentage of speed limit is used to estimate the congestion, the amount of congestion may be underestimated because the free flow speed is higher than the speed limit.Item Relationships of cognitive appraisal(2006-08) Mallon, Mark William; Steinhardt, MaryCognitive appraisal is a pivotal construct that has been identified in determining the stress response and coping response. Researchers have shown specific physiological outcomes of initial cognitive appraisals that are taken more as a threat or a challenge. Cognitive appraisal is known to fluctuate, but little is known about what influences these cognitive re-appraisals. While it has been theorized that changes in physiological arousal might impact cognitive re-appraisals, there is little support for this return pathway. Performance with the stressor has however been indicated as impacting cognitive reappraisals. The studies presented here tested the relationships between cognitive appraisal, cognitive re-appraisal, coping response, performance measures, and changes in physiology. A computerized digit-symbol reaction time task presented to participants as "an IQ test" yielded performance measures, while heart rate and mean arterial blood pressure were recorded, as were measures of participants' cognitive appraisal of the stressor. Participants were both male and female undergraduates with 28 in the first study and 71 in the second study. Results from both studies indicate that the initial cognitive appraisal predicted the coping response as self-reported after the task. Initial cognitive appraisal also predicted more than a third of the variance observed in cognitive re-appraisal. The performance measure, percent correct, predicted an additional 15% of the variance. Neither heart rate nor mean arterial pressure was found to influence the cognitive re-appraisal at the end of the task. The second study also had a subjective performance measure and another cognitive re-appraisal after three minutes of rest. Tests indicated that the subjective percent correct predicted over 15% of the variance of cognitive re-appraisal, subsuming the objective measure of percent correct. The second study also found only one physiological measure, the stress response’s mean arterial pressure, predicted 4% of the variance of the latter cognitive re-appraisal. Results identify the initial appraisal of, and the perception of performance with a stressful task as the primary targets for interventions promoting more effective coping and positive emotions. Future research is discussed that can address the limitations of these studies and investigate other environmental and personal factors that may influence cognitive appraisals.