Prof. Norbert Mundorf
University of Rhode Island-Communication Studies
Davis Hall, Rm. 302
Kingston, RI  02881
401-874-4725
mundorf@uri.edu
PI

• To expand behavioral alternatives, e.g. use the newly established Kingston Connection to provide transportation to nearby movie theaters and other non-drinking venues.
  
• To create student awareness of transportation alternatives and to encourage choice of public transit and designated driver options.
  
• To increase acceptance and use of safe driving behaviors. In addition to avoiding DUI, seatbelt use and speeding are considerable risk behaviors among college students.
  
• To expand the application of behavior change approaches, specifically in connection with health and lifestyle related interventions in the General Education course COM100.
  
• To pretest these interventions and assess their effectiveness for varied student groups.

Intermodal

In addition to providing Transportation alternatives, the emphasis in this project will be on education and behavior change and outreach beyond the URI campus. The project will systematically integrate previous work, broaden its scope, and integrate it into a behavior change model with elements of Social Norms theory as well as Prochaska’s Stages of Change. It will lay the groundwork for broad-based Year 4 initiatives, which will include a dedicated bus/model vehicle, collaboration with other colleges, commercial and government units, as well as a summit of local college presidents and student life offices. Collaboration with an established Alcohol research team at the University will broaden the impact and reach of the project. Stronger behavioral interventions will be introduced in addition to expanded service, to encourage responsible student behavior.

• Health and safety interventions developed for URI Freshmen and Sophomore in the General Education course COM100
  
• Promotional videos and other campaign components, including messages developed and tested for different media
  
• Structured involvement of Juniors and Seniors from Communication studies, Business, Athletics and other majors in developing and promoting entertainment alternatives
  
• Development of incentive system (e.g. contests, small scholarships) for students to develop persuasive messages and become involved in transportation issues
  
• Exploration of various safe transportation options for students to Providence and other locales (dedicated Mobile Classroom vehicle; private bus, coach, van service; AMTRAK)
  
• Involvement of law enforcement in underscoring the seriousness of the problem, enforcing safe behaviors, and serving as role models
  
• Cooperation with other Colleges (Rhode Island College;; Bryant College; Roger Williams University; Salve Regina; Brown University; Johnson & Wales; RISD)
  
• Documentation and evaluation of activities
  
• Focus on long-term change in alcohol control and other risk behaviors (CPRC)
  
• Coordination of this project with Priorities of the RIDOT Office of Highway Safety (Click-it or ticket; .08; speeding)

Annual Report July-December 2006 for this project filed under 2001 project "Encouraging Safe Transportation Behavior".

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Graduate Students support, Undergraduate students in Dr. Mundorf's classes, see
Annual Report July-December 2006 for this project filed under 2001 project "Encouraging Safe Transportation Behavior".

This project is complimentary to other URI projects, which address alcohol consumption in general, and other risk behaviors. Focusing on transportation as a vehicle to address drinking-related issues is a key concern. Students have some low-level awareness of DUI issues, but environmental conditions (peer pressure, lack of transport or entertainment alternatives) are not conducive to behavior change. By focusing both on attitude change combined with behavioral alternatives this project will not only make students aware of unsafe driving concerns, but also provide alternatives to such unsafe practices. Use of Thursday night buses has shown that demand is definitely there. There is a tremendous opportunity to channel this demand.

Drunk Driving and Seatbelt Video Demonstration. Construction Career Day, Coventry, RI, May 18-19, 2005.
Drunk Driving and Seatbelt Video Demonstration. URITC Transportation Breakfast, Warwick, RI, May 19, 2005.
Various activities related to Designated Driver and Safe Ride programs (Common Ground, Narragansett Coalition, Rhody Rides)

Years 1 and 2 of this project have shown that there is tremendous demand for safe transportation to off-campus entertainment venues. The RIPTA service provided a unique opportunity to reach Precontemplators, i.e. those who are not even thinking about changing undesirable behaviors. But it also became clear that that this demand needs to be channeled; in particular, alcohol consumption needs to be addressed along with other potential transportation risk behaviors. In addition, the critical need for expanding the scope of the project was underscored by early outcomes. The need for increased collaboration within URI, with police, local businesses, and across RI colleges, and even reaching into the K-12 level became evident.

In Year 3, as we explore transportation options rather than RIPTA, a stronger focus on the educational aspect of the project will permit coordination of efforts in several areas.

Multimodal; human factors; behavior change; DUI