Crash Data Validation: An Iowa Case Study, February, 2007

With the quickening pace of crash reporting, the statistical editing of data on a weekly basis, and the ability to provide working databases to users at CTRE/Iowa Traffic Safety Data Service, the University of Iowa, and the Iowa DOT, databases that would be considered incomplete by past standards of static data files are in “public use” even as the dynamic nature of the central DOT database allows changes to be made to both the aggregate of data and to the individual crashes already reported. Moreover, “definitive” analyses of serious crashes will, by their nature, lag seriously behind the preliminary data files. Even after these analyses, the dynamic nature of the mainframe data file means that crash numbers can continue to change long after the incident year. The Iowa DOT, its Office of Driver Services (the “data owner”), and institutional data users/distributors must establish data use, distribution, and labeling protocols to deal with the new, dynamic nature of data. In order to set these protocols, data must be collected concerning the magnitude of difference between database records and crash narratives and diagrams. This study determines the difference between database records and crash narratives for the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Office of Traffic and Safety crash database and the impacts of this difference.

Business Sphere, Vol. 20, no.3

When selecting sites for the industry’s leading data centers, experts and IT leaders such as Google and Microsoft, are increasingly choosing Iowa They’re doing so because they understand that Iowa is a safe zone for data and information storage — tucked away from the major threats and terrorist targets in the U.S. What’s more, there are many infrastructural and financial benefits that only Iowa offers. With all this activity, available research and Iowa’s inherent advantages, it seems the question isn't so much why Iowa, but why not?

Business Sphere, Vol. 21, no.3

Iowa may be known for some of the world’s most fertile cropland, but in recent years, we’ve become fertile ground for rapid growth in information technology as well. From the recent “plug-in” of Google’s $600-million Council Bluffs data center to Microsoft’s planned half-billion-dollar West Des Moines expansion to IBM’s 1,300-job-creating expansion in Dubuque, technology leaders are finding Iowa a place to grow. And why not? Iowa has a supportive business climate and its infrastructure — physical and human — give our technology companies the competitive advantages that allow them to grow and prosper.

Business Sphere, Vol. 18, no.3

Iowa may be known for some of the world’s most fertile cropland, but in recent years, we’ve become fertile ground for rapid growth in information technology as well. From the recent “plug-in” of Google’s $600-million Council Bluffs data center to Microsoft’s planned half-billion-dollar West Des Moines expansion to IBM’s 1,300-job-creating expansion in Dubuque, technology leaders are finding Iowa a place to grow. And why not? Iowa has a supportive business climate and its infrastructure — physical and human — give our technology companies the competitive advantages that allow them to grow and prosper.

Business Sphere, Vol. 19, no.3

Iowa may be known for some of the world’s most fertile cropland, but in recent years, we’ve become fertile ground for rapid growth in information technology as well. From the recent “plug-in” of Google’s $600-million Council Bluffs data center to Microsoft’s planned half-billion-dollar West Des Moines expansion to IBM’s 1,300-job-creating expansion in Dubuque, technology leaders are finding Iowa a place to grow. And why not? Iowa has a supportive business climate and its infrastructure — physical and human — give our technology companies the competitive advantages that allow them to grow and prosper.

Business Sphere, Vol. 18, no.1

Information technology is a strong and important sector of the Iowa economy employing 30,000 Iowans at more than 2,000 companies, according to a new analysis from Battelle Institute consultants. The strength of Iowa’s IT industry is based in the service-segment. Internet and data services, communications network services, and software and computer services constitute 81 percent of all IT employment. Slightly ahead of U.S. trends, these service sectors compose the backbone of Iowa’s IT industry,

Artificial-Intelligence-Based Optimization of the Management of Snow Removal Assets and Resources Final Report, October 2002

Geographic information systems (GIS) and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques were used to develop an intelligent snow removal asset management system (SRAMS). The system has been evaluated through a case study examining snow removal from the roads in Black Hawk County, Iowa, for which the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) is responsible. The SRAMS is comprised of an expert system that contains the logical rules and expertise of the Iowa DOT’s snow removal experts in Black Hawk County, and a geographic information system to access and manage road data. The system is implemented on a mid-range PC by integrating MapObjects 2.1 (a GIS package), Visual Rule Studio 2.2 (an AI shell), and Visual Basic 6.0 (a programming tool). The system could efficiently be used to generate prioritized snowplowing routes in visual format, to optimize the allocation of assets for plowing, and to track materials (e.g., salt and sand). A test of the system reveals an improvement in snowplowing time by 1.9 percent for moderate snowfall and 9.7 percent for snowstorm conditions over the current manual system.

Consumer Advisory: The Drive to Destroy: Removing data from computer hard drives, storage devices & wireless phones, June 2014

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division receives hundreds of calls and consumer complaints every year. Follow these tips to avoid unexpected expense and disappointments. This record is about: The Drive to Destroy: Removing data from computer hard drives, storage devices & wireless phones

Health consultation : Sub-Slab Gas and Air Sampling Data Alcoa – Davenport Works CERCLIS No. IAD005270160 Riverdale, Scott County, Iowa (2005)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Alcoa – Davenport Works Facility (Alcoa), and concerned citizens and community leaders of Riverdale, Iowa requested the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) Hazardous Waste Site Health Assessment Program to evaluate the health impacts of exposures to volatile organic vapors detected within residences located immediately to the west of the Alcoa property. This health consultation addresses inhalation exposure to individuals that may have occupied the currently vacant residences in which the air sampling was completed.