Report on a special investigation of the City of Halbur for the period July 1, 1995 through June 30, 2008

Report on a special investigation of the City of Halbur for the period July 1, 1995 through June 30, 2008

Historical contingency affects signaling strategies and competitive abilities in evolving populations of simulated robots.

One of the key innovations during the evolution of life on earth has been the emergence of efficient communication systems, yet little is known about the causes and consequences of the great diversity within and between species. By conducting experimental evolution in 20 independently evolving populations of cooperatively foraging simulated robots, we found that historical contingency in the occurrence order of novel phenotypic traits resulted in the emergence of two distinct communication strategies. The more complex foraging strategy was less efficient than the simpler strategy. However, when the 20 populations were placed in competition with each other, the populations with the more complex strategy outperformed the populations with the less complex strategy. These results demonstrate a tradeoff between communication efficiency and robustness and suggest that stochastic events have important effects on signal evolution and the outcome of competition between distinct populations.

Report on a special investigation of the Fairfield Parks and Recreation Department (Parks and Recreation) for the period January 1, 2007 through April 8, 2008

Report on a special investigation of the Fairfield Parks and Recreation Department (Parks and Recreation) for the period January 1, 2007 through April 8, 2008

Special investigation of the Cedar Rapids Veterans Memorial Commission and Valor, Inc. (Valor) for the period January 1, 2006 through October 31, 2007

Special investigation of the Cedar Rapids Veterans Memorial Commission and Valor, Inc. (Valor) for the period January 1, 2006 through October 31, 2007

First record of Coprophanaeus bellicosus (Olivier) (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) in a "Brejo de Altitude" forest in northeastern Brazil: a historical biogeographical approach

First record of Coprophanaeus bellicosus (Olivier) (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) in a "Brejo de Altitude" forest in northeastern Brazil: a historical biogeographical approach. This note presents the first record for a species of dung beetle of the genus Coprophanaeus, subgenus Megaphanaeus, in a "Brejo de Altitude" forest. Besides the new record, the paper discusses biogeographic aspects of the species and subgenus, as well as of the natural history of the "Brejos de Altitude", unique ecosystems in the northeast region of Brazil.

Report on a special investigation of the Assistant Director of the Camp Adventure program at the University of Northern Iowa for the period January 1, 2006 through March 31, 2008

Report on a special investigation of the Assistant Director of the Camp Adventure program at the University of Northern Iowa for the period January 1, 2006 through March 31, 2008

Cross-border banking in Europe: An empirical investigation

This paper investigates bilateral trade in banking services within the European Union. The attention has been addressed to two main issues. First, to test the bank's motivations for setting up the different forms of overseas offices, and secondly, to assess the importance of barriers to entry across national European banking systems. Empirical results confirm the existence of different motivations for establishing representative offices, branches and subsidiaries in foreign locations. In addition, evidence has been achieved about the importance of non-regulatory barriers that could make difficult the existence of a single European market for banking services.

Special investigation of the Monticello Ambulance Service for the period July 1, 2005 through November 9, 2007

Special investigation of the Monticello Ambulance Service for the period July 1, 2005 through November 9, 2007

Report on a special investigation of the Engineering Communications and Marketing Department (ECM) of Iowa State University of Science and Technology for the period January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2007

Report on a special investigation of the Engineering Communications and Marketing Department (ECM) of Iowa State University of Science and Technology for the period January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2007

Report on a special investigation of the City of Ames Electric Department for the period July 1, 2003 through January 7, 2008

Report on a special investigation of the City of Ames Electric Department for the period July 1, 2003 through January 7, 2008

Report on a special investigation of the Wayne County Conservation Department for the period July 1, 2005 through July 30, 2008

Report on a special investigation of the Wayne County Conservation Department for the period July 1, 2005 through July 30, 2008

Bargaining efficiency and screening: An experimental investigation

This paper investigates whether information about fairness types canbe useful in lowering dispute costs and enhancing bargaining efficiency.An experiment was conducted in which subjects were first screened usinga dictator game, with the allocations chosen used to separate participantsinto two types. Mutually anonymous pairs of subjects then bargained, witha dispute cost structure imposed. Sorting with identification reducesdispute costs; there are also significant differences in bargainingefficiency across pairing types. Information about types is crucial forthese differences and also strongly affects the relative bargainingsuccess of the two types and the hypothetical optimal bargaining strategy.

Special investigation of Jasper County Transit for the period April 1, 2004 through April 1, 2006

Special investigation of Jasper County Transit for the period April 1, 2004 through April 1, 2006

Special investigation of the Searsboro Volunteer Fire/EMS Department for the period February 8, 2005 through September 21, 2008

Special investigation of the Searsboro Volunteer Fire/EMS Department for the period February 8, 2005 through September 21, 2008

Investigation of Restraint Device use in Iowa's County Jail

Executive Summary The use of full-body restraint devices is a widespread practice in Iowa’s county jails. Full-body restraints come in the form of restraint chairs, boards, and beds, including two such devices manufactured in Iowa. Iowa law, which refers to these as four- and fivepoint restraints, states they are only to be used when an inmate is a threat to self, others, or jail security. However, the Ombudsman found they were also used on inmates who caused minor disruptions or in response to an inmate’s verbal abuse. In some cases, the restraints were used on inmates with known mental illness who were acting out, though no attempts were made to seek medical or mental health reviews for those inmates while restrained, leading to extended use of the restraint device.