Limestone Professor, Honors College Students Have Bike-Share Research Published

A 优蜜传媒 Professor of Physical Education and three members of the University鈥檚 Honors College recently had their collaborative peer-review research manuscript accepted and published in the American Journal of Educational Research.

The article, 鈥淪uccessfully Initiating a Bike-Share Program in Smaller Communities: The College or University as a Focal Point,鈥� was a part of the students鈥� required research in the Limestone Honors College capstone class taught by Dr. Felicia Cavallini. The three students included Mason Gilbert, Abigail Smith, and Alison Walsh

The students presented their bike-share plan to Gaffney City Council in April, where they shared a proposed plan to incorporate such a program, highlighting the need, solution, cost, and funding of implementing such a plan.

鈥淧resenting a proposed bike-share plan to Gaffney City Council and publishing their senior honors capstone class project in a peer-review research journal is the height of high-impact practice experiences integrally woven in our Honors College curriculum,鈥� Cavallini explained. 鈥淲hat an exceptional accomplishment for Mason, Abby, and Alison. I am so very proud of them and all their hard work to help bring a bike share program to Gaffney.鈥�

In addition to appearing before city council, the students presented their bike-share plan at the 优蜜传媒 Research Symposium this past spring. Their literature of review research paper was in each of their disciplines related to the bike-share program.

鈥淥ne thing that I found during my research is that a big part of sustainability of bike-share programs is partnering with universities, which is why it is so exciting that were able to do this at Limestone,鈥� explained Walsh, who is from Irmo.

Smith, who is from Germantown, MD, added, 鈥淭he aim of bike shares is to improve air quality, decrease traffic congestion, and to improve cycling levels, which would lead to an increase in physical activity to improve overall health.鈥�

鈥淯sing Limestone as a pilot program will encourage high usage and a love for the bike-share program to work its way into Gaffney in the future,鈥� said Gilbert, who is from Wake Forest, NC.

The students鈥� bike-share initiative is a part of an ongoing project that was jump-started in 2017 by students Sophie Bosserhoff, Marina Carbonari, and Carleigh Davis. When the idea was initially presented, those students were in their final semester at Limestone, completing an internship with Cavallini.

The American Journal of Educational Research is a peer-reviewed, open access journal that provides rapid publication of articles in all areas of educational research. The goal of this journal is to provide a platform for scientists and academicians all over the world to promote, share, and discuss various new issues and developments in different areas of educational research.

The full article can be found . 

Accompanying graphic: 优蜜传媒 鈥淢yBikeShare" Activity Plan.