Friday, September 28, 2018


Elevator Pitch



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Thursday, September 27, 2018

Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2
I interviewed my friend from Ohio State. I wanted to get a feel of what pedestrian and traffic is like at other college campuses. When he told me that he has the same problem at his school I wasn’t surprised at all. I feel like all college campuses have the same problem because of the amount of pedestrians. The big difference is his weather is a lot colder so there are less people outside walking and more people take the bus or uber to class.

I interviewed my dad to see what it was like back when he was in school. He went to school in a city so it was different than a college campus. He used to take the subway to class so it is tough to compare between his experiences at college regarding pedestrian walkers and mine.
The next person I interviewed is steve. He is a brother in my fraternity. He is an older brother so I wanted to see if the traffic was always as bad and he said that it even has started to get worse. More and more freshman started to get cars so there are more people driving cars.He even remembers once seeing an old man get honked at cause he was walking too slow across the street.
I interviewed another friend of mine to get their perspective on the situation. He had opinions unlike others who I have interviewed. He is a man of the people and believes that people should use any form of transportation they want to get from point A to point B. He believes that it would be safer if people who are walking weren’t walking the same streets as people who are driving. He also brought up how the amount of cops on campus does help with keeping walkers safe.
The final person I interviewed was another one of my friends. I ran out of different kinds of people to interview so I went to another one of my friends. He basically said the same as most people by saying that it would be a lot more people friendly if there were more bridges or tunnels. He brought up the tunnel by cypress hall in saying that it is a figure in the school that everyone knows about. It would be cool if we had more of those around the school.


Inside the Boundary
Outside the Boundary
Who: All college students at all Universities around the U.S
Who: People who aren’t in college yet. Younger kids
What the need is: Keeping people safe around campus, speeding up traffic
What the need is not: Getting rid of people walking around campus or cars
Why the need exist: There are so many people on campus who need to transport from point A to point B
Alternative Explanations: Every person should walk around campus and cars should not be allowed. (This is a bad idea)
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Friday, September 21, 2018

8A-Solving the Problem

8A- Solving the Problem
The solution to the problem is simple but also complex. To reiterate what the problem is. It is the fact that people crossing the street of campus may not feel safe when walking and the drivers of campus are forced to wait into longer traffic because of these walkers. The solution that I and many others have thought of are the building of tunnels in bridges. There already tunnels and bridges in campus for example by cypress hall and the DNA bridge so we know that it is possible for this to be done in other areas of campus. Museum Road is easily the busiest street in gainesville especially during classes. The construction of a tunnel or bridge for walkers would completely speed up traffic so that cars and scooter do not need to stop and wait for people to cross the road. Not only is the development of bridges and tunnels a pro for drivers but also could be a pro for walkers. Living on the UF campus the number one rule is safety. The University want to make sure that their students are as safe as possible. The placement of bridges and tunnels would keep walkers away from drivers and would 100 percent improve the safety of students

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7A: Testing A Hypothesis Part 1

7A: Testing A Hypothesis Part 1:
1)The University of Florida needs to find a way to make pedestrian walking more safe and fine a way to speed up traffic speed that is caused by pedestrian walkers.
2)The Who: Pedestrian Walkers (students and teachers), Car Drivers, Bus Drivers, Bikers
The What: Not only does the amount of pedestrian in gainesville slow down traffic significantly, it also makes it less safe for both drivers and pedestrian walkers.
Why: I have been affected by this situation in that I have been in both shoes as a driver and a walker. I have noticed how much walkers slow down traffic and also how people who walk feel nervous around cars when walking around campus.
3) Testing the Who: to test the who I want to make sure that I interview all different kids of people of all different age groups who use all different kinds of transportation at the University of Florida.
Testing the What: I want to get peoples opinions on whether or not they think there could be an easier and/or safer way to transport people around campus
Testing the Why: I want to see if other people are affected by this opportunity as much as i am and to see if they believe there is anything that we could do as a community to solve the problem.
4) Interviews:
  1. My Friend who always walks around campus. My goal throughout these interviews were to interview all different kind of students who use different forms of transportation to get around campus. Talking to a person who walks everywhere we discussed whether or not he feels safe when crossing the main student crossing intersections around campus such as Gale Lemorand and centre rd. these two streets are probably the most populated during the schools days with thousands of people crossing these streets each day. He told me he usually feels safe when crossing these streets because drivers know they are in a heavy populated area so they tend to drive more safe.
  2. The next person I interviewed was a friend of my who takes his scooter everyday to get to class. He says that because of all the walkers around campus he has to leave an extra 10 minutes earlier because of how much people who walk around slow down traffic especially in between class periods. He also told me how he feels that people who drive to get around are usually very impatient when it comes to walkers and how that could lead to it not being as safe.
  3. The third person I interviewed was someone I found biking in the streets. He said that he prefers to bike so he doesn’t have to wait in the traffic that is caused by the people walking to class. He said that the Bike lane is a great invention because it keeps pedestrians on the sidewalk and makes sure bikers can’t get into accidents with people who are walking.
  4. The 4th person that I interviewed was my brother who also goes to UF who uses his car as his main way of transportation. His opinion of the subject was very similar to my friend who uses his scooter. He too thought that people who walk slow down traffic in a big way, but he understands that this might be their only way of transportation.
  5. The final person I interviewed was a teacher who walks around campus. I wanted to get an interview of someone in a different age group and see if they had similar thoughts to others. He believed that even though some drivers and scooters may be impatient, that they understand they are driving in a college campus so they are always weary of people who are crossing the street.
My biggest takeaway from these interviews is that all these people share very similar thoughts and views on pedestrians walking and driving around campus. For the most part they think that there is nothing you could do to try and speed up traffic around campus. You just have to come to a realization that since it is a college campus with over 50,000 people that there is bound to be traffic especially at certain times during the day.
After giving my interviews the biggest thing I learned is that people don’t really care about the speed of the traffic they more care about making sure every student and person who is walking across the street is able to get to class or to wherever their destination is. Even though sometimes is might be annoying that museum road is all the way backed up but since we are living in a college campus the number one priority is making sure every student is safe and feels comfortable when walking, biking, scooting or driving around campus

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Thursday, September 13, 2018

6A Identifying Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends

6A: Identifying Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends
Regulatory Trend #1: Nikes Sales Increase 31%
I found a regulatory Trend in an article by NBCnews.com regarding NIke sales after the release of Colin Kaepernick as a spokesperson for the company. At first no one knew how Nike would be affected by making a person a spoke person who has picked up mix reviews over the past year or two but it seems like it is working out. Nike belief that “controversial endorsements tend to generate a lot of hype.” This shows that an opportunity exists for companies to use controversial people to promote their company. I’m not saying this is the biggest positive for a community but it has proven that is could be a good business strategy for companies in the near future. Another person might no see the same belief as me because it is tough to get past the fact that Nike is using a person who has created a lot of fuzz in the environment especially emotionally.


Regulatory Trend #2: U.S Household income Increase for 3rd straight year
I found this regulatory trend because it has increased for 3 straight years. The median
U.S household income has increased to $61,372. I see this as an opportunity belief
that more and more people are able to find jobs and support a house and even a
family. This is good to see the economy in such a rise after the 2007 Recession. The
1.8% raise from 2017 to 2018 is good but not as big as the previous 2 years. The
income in U.S household only looks like it is going to keep on increasing because of
how Donald Trump has help strengthen the economics. This article not only talks
about household income but also discusses how the rate has increased for the amount
of people who have health insurance for themselves and their family. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/u-s-household-income-increases-third-straight-year-61-372-n908541


Economic Trend #1: China Sees Hints of a Past Threat: Inflation
This article is about an economic trend in china. The article discusses how prices are
on the rise in china. Pork, Vegetable and gas prices are all up in China, especially in beijing. Investors in Beijing believe that the middle class is the most scared from the rise in prices. Since people try to cook as many meals as possible. The country’s leader Xi Jinping is nervous from the cause of prices. Another thing that might have cause an increase in prices is the trade war that is going on between china and the United States. This article is a good example of an economic trend because it shows how people all around china, especially beijing are being impacted by the increase in prices. This is a big economic issue for china which hopefully they could solve sooner rather than later. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/10/business/china-prices-inflation.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FEconomic%20Conditions%20and%20 Trends Action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&page type=collection



Economic Trend #2: California Cities Lead the U.S. in Personal Income Growth
This article is a little different than the previous economic trend because instead of focusing on the world economy its main focus is on the United States, in specific California. California cities lead the U.S in personal income growth. California is fueled by high paying job growth in telecom and biotech has helped make california the strength of U.S economy. All of California's big cities are close to full employment. This article is an economic trend because it discusses the economy of the U.S and california and also discusses how it has changed from before. California economy is up 3% from the previous year. The main concern that california still has is the high cost of living in many of the big towns and cities. The people most likely affected by this article are people who currently live in california and the people who we are referring to when talking about the income in california.  https://www.wsj.com/articles/california-cities-lead-the-u-s-in-personal-income-growth-1536840001

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Wednesday, September 12, 2018

5A Identifying Local Opportunities

Identifying Local Opportunities

    1. Title: Gators' depth in defensive backfield an issue after injuries
    3. Description: After Injuries have bothered the Gators in the Secondary of their Defense They are now looking to the Offense to find some depth on defense. With the loss of star cornerback Marco Wilson, the gator secondary is in scrambles looking for players to step up. Coach Mullen is expecting freshman Tre Dean to step in and play starter minutes in the secondary.
    4. Problem: The problem that is being address in this article is the Florida Gator Football teams lack of depth in the secondary on defense after the loss of cornerback Marco Wilson to injury. The coaches are now looking to freshman and even the offense to find players who might be able to step in and take some reps on defense..
    5. Who: The who in this article is the Florida Gators football team, being more specific it is the Secondary of the Defense. If you don’t know football, the secondary includes cornerbacks and safetys; usually the players who defend the wide receivers.
  2. S
    1. Title: City to explore open-container law for UF game days
    3. Description: City of Gainesville is looking into opening up bars untill later times on game days and also looking to allowing open containers on campus during game days.
    4. Problem: Gainesville Bars have a certain time in which they have to close and also UFPD is very strict in allowing open container of drinks around campus especially during game days.
    5. Who: The main people affected from these rules are college students who go to the University of Florida. Being in the article, A student discusses why he believes the rule should be changed to make bars open later on gamedays and to allow open containers on campus.



  1. Sd
    1. Title: Doughton plans to retire as publisher of the Gainesville Sun
    3. Description: James Doughton the regional publisher for 7 Newspapers including the Gainesville Sun plans to retire at the end of this year. James is helping Patrick Dorsey the regional vice president of Gatehouse Media and owner of the Newspaper select a replacement.
    4. Problem: James Doughton has been the publisher of the Gainesville Sun for almost 20 years and now they have to look to find a replacement
    5. Who: two different kinds of people are affected from this. First is the people who work for these newspapers who might have to step up and replaces James. Also all readers of these newspapers are affected because there is going to be a new publisher.

    1. Title: Gun on campus investigation continues at BHS
    3. Description: One day after an armed teen went to Buchholz High School, Alachua County school system officials expressed relief that school resource officers were at the ready to help tamp down the situation and are still looking into solving the situation.
    4. Problem: Guns have been a big problem in many cases over the past few years and it is a positive that this situation ended with it being resolved and no one getting hurt.
    5. Who: All students from this High School should be aware of the situation that is occuring at their school and so should parents of students.
  3. K
    1. Title: Disney joins UF Online roster
    3. Description: The University of Florida has announced Disney as a third partnership as part of its UF Online Employer Pathways Program. This allows Disney employees who never gotten a degree to come get their degree through UF
    4. Problem: Millions of people are unable to get college diplomas because they have to work instead of going to school so this allows people in specifically, disney employees to get an education.
    5. Who: All disney employees who want to get an education or add to their education are affected by this.
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Friday, September 7, 2018

4A Opportunity Belief

Assignment 4A- Opportunity Belief



  1. Being a student in gainesville with both a scooter and car one of my biggest bugs are pedestrian walkers. I have nothing against people deciding to walk to class or around campus but i have a belief that the problem of traffic being so slowed down because of walkers could be fixed in a very easy way. Walking is easily the easiest way of transportation in gainesville but why should that hurt other ways of transportation.

  1. The unmet need that I am trying to fix is Pedestrian crossing the street in front of cars and scooters. This needs to be resolved because it hurts traffic in the streets of campus especially during the school day. It has forced not only me but i’m sure other people to arrive at class late. This has been one of my biggest bugs ever since starting school at the University of Florida last fall. In order to meet this need the School has to pay for more bridges and tunnels to be made around campus. Especially on big intersections.


  1. Prototypical Customer #1: pedestrians who walk around campus.
    1. How often do you walk across the crosswalk by the Reitz Union?
      1. “I typically walk that crosswalk twice or Three times a day.”
    2. How often do you see traffic is backed up on Museum Road?
      1. “Usually everytime I walk past there are cars lined up all the way.”
    3. Do you feel a tunnel or bridge would limit the amount of traffic?
      1. “Yes I think that would help both walkers and drivers in both situations”
    4. Is there anything else you would like to add about pedestrian walkers?
      1. “Yes i feel like they could try and do their part and cross the street as fast as they could to help speed up traffic.”
Reflection: After talking to a campus pedestrian I feel that they would feel more safe without having to cross a busy intersection everyday to get to class. They also feel that drivers are salittle too impatient when it comes to walkers around campus and it is a bad relationship that we currently have.
  1. Prototypical Customer #2: Scooter and Car drivers
    1. How often do you drive across the reitz union or gale lemerand intersection on campus?
      1. “I scoot to class every day from the cascades and usually takes me 15 minutes to get to campus which is like a half mile away.”
    2. Do you think there is a way to make your scoot drive faster?
      1. No because it is tough to avoid lights and pedestrian walkers cause a lot of traffic especially in between class periods.
    3. Would you be opposed to building a bridge or tunnel near the bigger intersections?
      1. No I think that is a great idea because it would speed up traffic and also make it safer for walkers and drivers so they don’t have to look out for each other.
    4. Do you think starting construction to build a bridge would slow things down even more?
      1. Yes I would recommend doing it over the summer or a school break so it doesn’t have that big of an affect
Reflection: I get a feeling from talker to this scooter driver that he believes my belief is a great idea but it would be tough to go through with. He doesn’t think campus officials and government would agree to allow construction on such major roads. He also believes that it is ridiculous how long it takes people to get from one side of campus to the other especially during busy times of the day.
  1. Prototypical Customer #3: Campus Bus Driver for 5 years
    1. Do you feel your customers/bus riders are safe when getting off your bus?
      1. Yes I feel that drivers and bikers know there are going to be a  lot of walkers because they are on a university fo campus so they drive safer.
    2. Have you had any problems with timing when driving you bus to pick up riders?
      1. Usually I arrive at the stops at the exact time i am supposed to To make sure my riders have the best experience riding on my bus.
    3. Do you think a bridge or tunnel on big crosswalk intersections would speed up traffic?
      1. Yes I think it would, but it would be tough to get done with the amount of walkers and drivers there are around campus each day.
    4. Have you witnessed a driver get mad/ honk at a walker for going to slow?
      1. Yea that is usually a daily occurrence for me
Reflection: After talking to a campus bus driver who has been driving for 5 years, You could feel he is confident with the way UF is set up right now. He very rarely shows up late to pick ups and doesn’t get annoyed when people choose to walk across intersections because that might be the only way of getting to class He has been driving for many year and knows the roads of gainesville better than most people

Summary: To conclude as a result of my customer action I feel it is even more necessary to make actions regarding pedestrian walking. It would not only speed up the flow of traffic, the walking speed of pedestrian but will also help make the University of Florida a safer and more accident free campus. I know it would be tough to start construction for bridges or tunnels on a random day during the year. But with the help of campus officials, students, and teachers I feel that we could find a way to make this campus pedestrian friendly and driver friendly at the same time. I still stand with My original opportunity belief that there could be something done to this campus to help make it a driver and pedestrian safe campus. I feel like customer feedback was a big help in this assignment because it is always good to get other people viewpoints/ perspectives on things They might see something different than how you see it

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