How to Get Your Bearings - How to Get A Job: A Guide for Women who are Unemployed, Underemployed, or Underpaid

A guide for women who are preparing to enter the workforce. Produced by the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women.

Measuring Pavement Profile at the Slip-Form Paver, May 2005

Pavement profile or smoothness has been identified nationally as a good measure of highway user satisfaction. This has led highway engineers to measure profiles of both operating and new highways. Operational highway profiles are often measured with high-speed inertial profilers. New highway profiles are usually measured with profilographs in order to establish incentives or disincentives for pavement construction. In most cases, these two processes do not measure the same value from the “cradle to grave” life of pavements. In an attempt to correct the inconsistency between measuring techniques, lightweight profilers intended to produce values to be used for construction acceptance are being made that measure the same profile as high-speed inertial profilers. Currently, two profiler systems have been identified that can measure pavement profile during construction. This research has produced a field evaluation of the two systems. The profilers evaluated in this study are able to detect roughness in the final profile, including localized roughness and roughness at joints. Dowel basket ripple is a significant source of pavement surface roughness. The profilers evaluated in this study are able to detect dowel basket ripple with enough clarity to warn the paving crew. String-line disturbances degrade smoothness. The profilers evaluated in this study are able to detect some string-line disturbances during paving operations. The profilers evaluated in this study are not currently able to produce the same absolute International Roughness Index (IRI) values on the plastic concrete that can be measured by inertial profilers on the hardened concrete. Construction application guidelines are provided.

Stringless Portland Cement Concrete Paving, February 2004

This report describes results from a study evaluating the use of stringless paving using a combination of global positioning and laser technologies. CMI and Geologic Computer Systems developed this technology and successfully implemented it on construction earthmoving and grading projects. Concrete paving is a new area for considering this technology. Fred Carlson Co. agreed to test the stringless paving technology on two challenging concrete paving projects located in Washington County, Iowa. The evaluation was conducted on two paving projects in Washington County, Iowa, during the summer of 2003. The research team from Iowa State University monitored the guidance and elevation conformance to the original design. They employed a combination of physical depth checks, surface location and elevation surveys, concrete yield checks, and physical survey of the control stakes and string line elevations. A final check on profile of the pavement surface was accomplished by the use of the Iowa Department of Transportation Light Weight Surface Analyzer (LISA). Due to the speed of paving and the rapid changes in terrain, the laser technology was abandoned for this project. Total control of the guidance and elevation controls on the slip-form paver were moved from string line to global positioning systems (GPS). The evaluation was a success, and the results indicate that GPS control is feasible and approaching the desired goals of guidance and profile control with the use of three dimensional design models. Further enhancements are needed in the physical features of the slipform paver oil system controls and in the computer program for controlling elevation.

SMARTNews, Winter 2006

News from the Iowa Careers Consortium

SMART News, Summer 2006

News from the Iowa Careers Consortium

SMARTNews, Winter 2007

News from the Iowa Careers Consortium

SMARTNews, Summer 07

News from the Iowa Careers Consortium

Profiling and Reemployment Services, October 2003

It’s a way to help you move from unemployment to reemployment with customized services that meet your individual needs and take you where you want to go — back to work! Profiling is done in the early stages of your unemployment insurance claim by looking at certain factors, such as previous occupation, previous industry, education, duration of employment, wages, etc. Depending on the availability of services, some people identified by Iowa Workforce Development Centers during this profiling process will be offered the opportunity to benefit from additional reemployment services.

Resource Guide For Job Seekers, November 2009

A Step-by-step guide to dealing with a job loss, starting a new job and everything in between.

Recidivism of State FY96 Prison Releases in Iowa, May 2001

Expanding on research first presented in the Iowa Board of Parole FY99 Annual Report, this report presents recidivism data on offenders released from Iowa prisons during State FY1996 (July 1, 1995 – June 30, 1996). The figures presented here differ from those included in last year’s report due to four changes in the study. First, this year’s research includes data on those released from work release facilities, who were inadvertently omitted last year. In addition, the current figures include an additional year of tracking, as a second round of “rapsheets” was obtained to detect recidivism occurring within the last year.2 Also enhancing this year’s report is the availability of national recidivism data through the Interstate Identification Index (III). Further, while last year’s data looked only at the first new offense following release, this year’s study examines the most serious new conviction, resulting in higher felony recidivism rates. One note of caution should be voiced concerning the use of out-of-state records. A review of these records suggests very incomplete disposition reporting in III from some other states. In examining these records, it was not unusual to find a string of serious arrests with no dispositions noted. It was tempting in these situations to conclude that there must have been a conviction at some point, but we have resisted that urge when presenting figures on new convictions. This report is not intended to be an all-encompassing review of recidivism. Rather, it is meant to provide an illustration of the types of recidivism data available on prison releases in Iowa. Readers interested in other analyses of the data are urged to contact CJJP with suggestions and requests.

Experimental Use of Calcium Magnesium Acetate, HR-253, 1983

The Iowa Department of Transportation Materials Laboratory personnel announced in early 1982 a process to produce a road deicer consisting of sand grains coated with calcium magnesium acetate (CMA). From that point forward the Iowa DOT began searching for a means of economically producing CMA to their concept. During 1983 and 1984 the first attempts devised for commercially producing CMA were attempted by the W.G. Block Company, Davenport, Iowa, under Iowa Highway Research Board Project HR-253. This first attempt at commercially producing CMA was accomplished by the use of concrete transit mixer equipment. Even though this procedure proved successful in the batch mixing of CMA, the need for higher production rates to reduce the cost per ton still existed. During the fall of 1984, Cedarapids Inc, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, proposed to Iowa DOT personnel the application of their technology to a continuous mixing concept for CMA. Arrangements were made for the continuous test mixing of 60 to 100 tons of CMA/sand deicer. This report covers the production effort, description and results of procedures outlined in Cedarapids Inc's proposal of September 19, 1984. The objectives of this research were: 1. To produce the CMA/sand deicer concept on a continuous mixing basis to Iowa DOT CMA concentration levels. 2. To evaluate the results of preheating the carrying vehicle (sand) prior to CMA ingredient introduction. 3. To analyze the feasibility of production equipment and procedures necessary for portable and/or stationary applications of continuous mixing concepts.

Evaluation of the Duggan Test for Concretes Made of Different Types of Cements, MLR-97-8, 2000

In searching for simple and reliable test methods to evaluate the quality of Iowa portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements, the Duggan test was conducted for concretes made of twenty-six types of cements in this laboratory research. The influence of some factors, such as chemical composition and type of cements, use of air-entraining agent and water reducer, and water to cement ratio, on the result of the Duggan test was examined. It was found that the expansion increases with increasing values of potassium alkali (K2O) and sulfur trioxide (SO3) in cements. It was also found that the Type I cements generally produce higher expansion than the Type II, IP and IS cements. Since it is difficult to identify the major mechanism leading to the expansion observed in the Duggan test, more studies are certainly needed before it can be used as a reliable test method for evaluating the service life of concrete pavement.

An Optimum Allocation Approach to Closing or Relocating Highway Maintenance Garages in Iowa, 1981

Highway maintenance engineers and administrators are often confronted with a number of problems related to highway maintenance work programs. One of these problems is concerned with determining the optimum number and locations of highway maintenance garages in a given area. Serious decline in highway revenues and a high inflation rate have made it necessary to examine existing maintenance practices and to allocate reduced financial resources more effectively and efficiently. Searching for and providing of reasonable solutions to these problems is the focus of this research project. The methodology used is to identify and modify for use (if necessary) those models which have already been developed. Models which could give optimum number and locations of highway maintenance garages were found to be too theoretical and/or practically infeasible. Consequently, research focus was shifted from these models to other models that could compare alternatives and select the best among these alternatives. Three such models -- the Alabama model, California model, and Louisiana model, were identified and studied.

Mulch Iowa: A Guide to the Benefits of Mulch and Why you should use mulch produced in Iowa, December 17, 2003

Mulch helps to recreate the organic layer and soil structure of a wooded environment, which benefits your trees and shrubs... • Helps maintain even soil temperature in the roots by keeping them cool in the summer and warm in the winter. • Promotes plant growth. • Controls weeds. • Conserves soil moisture, meaning you use less water. • Improves soil structure and quality over the root area. • Protects from mechanical damage (mowers, string trimmers, etc.) • Helps beautify the new planting.

Worker Education in Germany, 1970

With the end of World War II and the advent of a variety of economic recovery programs, it became apparent to scholars and practitioners alike that the quality of the labor force, both here and abroad, was a vital, although often overlooked, factor in industrial recovery and growth. As a result of this awareness, there has been a development of interest and concern in the area of comparative education. Of particular interest has been the growing body of literature dealing with various aspects of comparative training and retraining programs within business and industry and related government-sponsored activities.