Plenary: SOC Student Plenary Presentations on Sunday, July 23, 2023, 1:30 PM
Room: Crystal
Thread: Diversity
Duration: 60 minutes
Chairs: Celia Stafford, Christine Tang
Modeling Public Transportation Attractiveness in System Dynamics: The Significance of Safety Perception
Presenters: Anna R. Siemer, Jefferson K. Rajah
The perception of safety while using public transit is a neglected influence on ridership in most system dynamics transit models. With a preliminary conceptual model, we show how safety perception could be integrated into public transit models. We modeled safety perception as a function of internal safety measures as well as the external social environ-ment that the transit system is embedded in. Potential perceived safety then influences the attractiveness of public trans-it, on top of the typical convenience factors found in existing models. The model is sensitive to changes in both indica-tors of safety perception, confirming the importance of these factors. Therefore, we contend that including these factors improves the conceptualization of public transit attractiveness, which leads to a better understanding of possible policies to increase ridership. Nevertheless, the conceptual model presented here is highly simplified and is preliminary. We further discuss opportunities for future directions in public transit modeling for including safety perception.
A qualitative system dynamics model of overdose bystander behavior in the context of Connecticut’s Good Samaritan Laws
Presenters: Rachel Thompson, Nasim Sabounchi, Syed Shayan Ali, Robert Heimer, Gail DOnofrio, Rebekah Heckmann
Good Samaritan Laws (GSLs) are a harm reduction policy intended to reduce fatal opioid overdose by enabling bystanders, first responders, and health care providers to assist individuals experiencing an overdose without facing civil or criminal liability. GSLs may not be reaching their full impact in many communities due to lack of knowledge of GSL protections among other poorly understood implementation barriers. The purpose of this study was to develop a systems understanding of the factors influencing bystander responses to opioid overdose in the context of Connecticut’s GSLs and to identify high-leverage policies for improving GSL implementation in Connecticut. We conducted six group model building workshops that engaged a diverse set of participants with medical and community expertise and lived bystander experience. Through an iterative, stakeholder-engaged process, we developed and refined a qualitative system dynamics model in the form of a causal loop diagram. Our model, grounded in local knowledge and experience, brings a nuanced systems perspective to the literature on bystander behavior in the context of GSLs, showing how non-linear interdependencies of the social, structural, and policy determinants of bystander behavior collectively form endogenous feedbacks which can be leveraged to design policies to advance systems change.
Modeling A Comprehensive Approach to Gun Violence Prevention in New York State
Presenter: Turner Canty
This paper seeks to investigate the environment of firearm ownership in New York State, and trends in firearm deaths and suicides using a system dynamics model. The model covers 2011-2026, and uses susceptible, infected, and recovered framework. Several external factors such as stressors due to COVID-19, poverty, and the effect of violence interruption programs are also incorporated into the model and examined. The primary outcome data that this model is calibrated for are yearly firearm-related deaths. The goal of the paper is to investigate potential approaches for reducing the number of firearm violence deaths in the state, which have increased since 2020.