Developing Iowa’s Bio-science Workforce: The Role of the Community Colleges of Iowa In Creating Skilled Workers for the Emerging Bio-science/Biotechnology Sector, 2006

The Iowa economy is undergoing great change. Among the sectors deemed important to Iowa’s economic future is bioscience. Definition of what constitutes the bioscience sector but suggests it includes agricultural, medical, plant-life sciences, and related industrial activity.

Managing Decisions Regarding Rural Expressway Routes and Associated Highway Bypasses, 2009

For several years, the Iowa Department of Transportation has constructed bypasses along rural highways. Most bypasses were constructed on the state’s Commercial Industrial Network (CIN). Now that work on the CIN has been completed and the system is open to traffic, it is possible to study the impacts of bypasses. In the past, construction of highway bypasses has led community residents and business people to raise concerns about the loss of business activity. For policy development purposes, it is essential to understand the impacts that a bypass might have on safety, the community, and economics. By researching these impacts, policies can be produced to help to alleviate any negative impacts and create a better system that is ultimately more cost-effective. This study found that the use of trade area analysis does not provide proof that a bypass can positively or negatively impact the economy of a rural community. The analysis did show that, even though the population of a community may be stable for several years and per capita income is increasing, sales leakage still occurs. The literature, site visits, and data make it is apparent that a bypass can positively affect a community. Some conditions that would need to exist in order to maximize a positive impact include the installation of signage along the bypass directing travelers to businesses and services in the community, community or regional plans that include the bypass in future land development scenarios, and businesses adjusting their business plans to attract bypass users. In addition, how proactive a community is in adapting to the bypass will determine the kinds of effects felt in the community. Results of statistical safety analysis indicate that, at least when crashes are separated by severity, bypasses with at-grade accesses appear to perform more poorly than either the bypasses with fully separated accesses or with a mix of at-grade and fully separated accesses. However, the benefit in terms of improved safety of bypasses with fully separated accesses relative to bypasses with a mixed type of accesses is not statistically conclusive.

Safety Analysis of Low-Volume Rural Roads in Iowa, 2010

Iowa features an extensive surface transportation system, with more than 110,000 miles of roadway, most of which is under the jurisdiction of local agencies. Given that Iowa is a lower-population state, most of this mileage is located in rural areas that exhibit low traffic volumes of less than 400 vehicles per day. However, these low-volume rural roads also account for about half of all recorded traffic crashes in Iowa, including a high percentage of fatal and major injury crashes. This study was undertaken to examine these crashes, identify major contributing causes, and develop low-cost strategies for reducing the incidence of these crashes. Iowa’s extensive crash and roadway system databases were utilized to obtain needed data. Using descriptive statistics, a test of proportions, and crash modeling, various classes of rural secondary roads were compared to similar state of Iowa controlled roads in crash frequency, severity, density, and rate for numerous selected factors that could contribute to crashes. The results of this study allowed the drawing of conclusions as to common contributing factors for crashes on low-volume rural roads, both paved and unpaved. Due to identified higher crash statistics, particular interest was drawn to unpaved rural roads with traffic volumes greater than 100 vehicles per day. Recommendations for addressing these crashes with low-cost mitigation are also included. Because of the isolated nature of traffic crashes on low-volume roads, a systemic or mass action approach to safety mitigation was recommended for an identified subset of the entire system. In addition, future development of a reliable crash prediction model is described.

Iowa Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety Resource Plan, 2011

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) convened the Health and Long-Term Care Advisory Council (HLTCAC) to assist in the development of its strategic plan. One component of the strategic plan is a rural health care resource plan. The intent of this document is to present reliable information and data as a valuable resource for the officials, agencies, and organizations responsible for strengthening and supporting the rural health systems vital to 43 percent of Iowa residents.

Mobile Phone Use among Market Traders at Fairs in Rural Peru

We characterize market traders at two rural fairs in Puno, Peru, based on quantitative and qualitative data gathered in 2008, to gain insight into types of traders and the information needs that influence the degree to which they use mobile phones to make decisions regarding which weekly fairs to attend. Using variables such as origin, type of goods sold, means of transportation to the market, and reliance on networks, we identify traders as full-time traders, part-time traders, or subsistence traders, that is, people trading solely to survive. We find that when traders are already familiar with the technology, regularly rely on endogenous networks to make decisions, and have more to lose from failing to trade (e.g., those selling perishable goods), they are more likely to use mobile phones to decide where to sell.

Caciquisme rural i contrautopies pageses. Testimonis d'unes cobles de la Conca de Barberà i del Priorat

Aquest article presenta i estudia un conjunt de cobles de la tradició oral recollides a la Conca de Barberà i al Priorat. Les cançons, creades en el marc de la Restauració, denuncien un conjunt de greuges lligats al caciquisme i al desenvolupament de l’Estat i de les relacions capitalistes que aquest fomenta. Les cobles presenten dos grans registres expressius, que obeeixen a diferents perspectives dels greuges que denuncien. D’una banda tenim unes cobles caracteritzades per una sàtira violenta, dreturera, una sintaxi cantelluda, antítesis primàries, i un recurs viu a les deformacions de l’adversari. En aquests casos, les lletres obeeixen a factors percebuts en la immediatesa de la comunitat, d’acord amb una perspectiva tradicional. D’altra banda, tenim cobles que es caracteritzen per un relaxament còmic i jocós de la sàtira, per una major narrativitat o arromançament, i també per una catarsi benèfica. En aquests casos, les cançons responen a un nou ordre de factors —polítics/política de partit, representants de l’Estat, noves modes estètiques, etc.— que en la societat rural, especialment entre aquells sectors poc introduïts a la modernitat, són percebuts amb una amplitud panoràmica, d’acord amb una ingenuïtat perceptiva, amb un distanciament naïf cap a la realitat. Es tracta d’un ordre de percepcions que informen els trets expressius que hem apuntat quant a aquestes cobles. Unes manifestacions ben il·lustratives d’aquestes darreres composicions són unes contrautopies que recullen, amb voluntat de totalitat, el conjunt d’abusos que pateix la societat pagesa, general o local.

Programari per gestionar un hotel rural

Desenvolupament d'una aplicació per a la gestió d'un hotel rural que inclou totes les àrees de gestió de reserves i serveis addicionals: manteniment de clients, proveïdors i treballadors, i la seva respectiva facturació.

Universal Service Policies in Europe & Latam: Evidence on Bridging the Divide in Rural Areas

Broadband access is a key factor for economic and social development. However, providing broadband to rural areas is not attractive to private telecommunications operators due its low or zero investment return. To deal with broadband provision in rural areas, different governance systems based on private and public cooperation have appeared. This paper not only identifies and defines public and private cooperation models but also assesses their impact on overcoming the digital divide in rural areas. The results show that public ownership infrastructure under private management policy has had positive effects on reducing the broadband digital divide and being applied to areas with higher digital divide; subsides to private operators providers only positive effects on reducing broadband digital divide; but public infrastructure with public management programs did not. The results, obtained using quasi-experimental methods, suggest the importance of incentives and control mechanisms in broadband universal service provision plans.

Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration Enhances Rural Livelihoods in Dryland West Africa

Declining agricultural productivity, land clearance and climate change are compounding the vulnerability of already marginal rural populations in West Africa. 'Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration' (FMNR) is an approach to arable land restoration and reforestation that seeks to reconcile sustained food production, conservation of soils and protection of biodiversity. It involves selecting and protecting the most vigorous stems regrowing from live stumps of felled trees, pruning off all other stems, and pollarding the chosen stems to grow into straight trunks. Despite widespread enthusiasm and application of FMNR by environmental management and development projects, to date, no research has provided a measure of the aggregate livelihood impact of community adoption of FMNR. This paper places FMNR in the context of other agroforestry initiatives, then seeks to quantify the value of livelihood outcomes of FMNR. We review published and unpublished evidence about the impacts of FMNR, and present a new case study that addresses gaps in the evidence base. The case study focuses on a FMNR project in the district of Talensi in the semi-arid Upper East Region in Ghana. The case study employs a Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis, which identifies proxy financial values for non-economic as well as economic benefits. The results demonstrate income and agricultural benefits, but also show that asset creation, increased consumption of wild resources, health improvements and psycho-social benefits created more value in FMNR-adopting households during the period of the study than increases in income and agricultural yields.

Rural Food System Change in Tanzania during the Post-Ujamaa Era. A Case Study from Western Bagamoyo District

Food systems in Sub-Saharan Africa have been rapidly transforming during the recent decades with diverse outcomes on human development and environment. This study explores the food system change in rural villages in eastern Tanzania where subsistence agriculture has traditionally been the main source of livelihood. The focus is on the salient changes in the spatial dimensions and structural composition of the food system in the context of economic liberalization that has taken place after the end of the socialist ujamaa era in the mid-1980s. In addition, the linkages of the changes are examined in relation to food security, socio-economic situation, livelihoods, and local environment. The approach of the study is geographical, but also involves various multi-disciplinary elements, particularly from development studies. The research methods included thematic and questionnaire interviews, participatory tools, and the analysis of land use/ cover data and official documents. Several earlier studies that were made in the area during the late 1970s and 1980s provided an important reference base. The study shows that subsistence farming has lost its dominant role in food provisioning due to the declining productivity of land, livestock losses, and the increasing shift of labour to non-farm sectors. Also rapid population growth has added to the pressure on land and other natural resources. Despite the increasing need for money for buying marketed foods and other necessities, the nutritional situation shows improvement and severe malnutrition has diminished. However, the long-term sustainability of this transformation raises concerns. Firstly, the food security situation continues to be fragile and prone to shocks such as adverse climatic conditions, crop failures and price hikes. Secondly, the commodification of the food system and livelihoods in general is linked to rapid environmental degradation in the area, particularly the loss of soil fertility and deforestation. The situation calls for efforts that take more determined and holistic approaches towards sustainable development of the rural food system with particular focus on the role and viability of small-scale farming.

Exploring Customer-Oriented Service Offerings in Public Health: Developing Integrated Health Care Services for Rural Areas

Väestön ikääntyminen pakottaa yhteiskunnan ja julkisen terveydenhuollon muutoksiin. Jotta ikääntyvien ihmisten kotona asuminen voidaan mahdollistaa, palvelujärjestelmän pitää mukautua muuttuvaan tilanteeseen. Tämän diplomityön tarkoituksena on tunnistaa asiakaslähtöisiä lähellä asiakasta tarjottavia palvelukokonaisuuksia. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys muodostuu asiakasarvon luomisesta ja palvelutarjoamista. Tarkasteluryhmänä on Etelä-Karjalan alueen 60–90-vuotiaat ja käytetty aineisto on kerätty vastaajilta postitse lähetetyllä kyselyllä. Tutkimus on eksploratiivinen ja tulosten tulkinnassa on hyödynnetty määrällisen tutkimuksen ja verkostoanalyysin menetelmiä. Työn keskeisimmät tulokset ovat tunnistetut asiakassegmentit ja heidän tarpeidensa pohjalta muodostetut palvelupaketit. Tulokset indikoivat asiakkaiden tarpeita ja tuloksia on analysoitu myös tuottajan näkökulmasta. Empiiristen tulosten lisäksi teoriaviitekehystä on kehitetty eteenpäin, jotta palvelukeskeiset teoriat voidaan ymmärtää yritysten näkökulman lisäksi asiakkaan näkökulmasta.

Impact of reliability of supply on long-term development approaches to electricity distribution networks

The Finnish electricity distribution sector, rural areas in particular, is facing major challenges because of the economic regulation, tightening supply security requirements and the ageing network asset. Therefore, the target in the distribution network planning and asset management is to develop and renovate the networks to meet these challenges in compliance with the regulations in an economically feasible way. Concerning supply security, the new Finnish Electricity Market Act limits the maximum duration of electricity supply interruptions to six hours in urban areas and 36 hours in rural areas. This has a significant impact on distribution network planning, especially in rural areas where the distribution networks typically require extensive modifications and renovations to meet the supply security requirements. This doctoral thesis introduces a methodology to analyse electricity distribution system development. The methodology is based on and combines elements of reliability analysis, asset management and economic regulation. The analysis results can be applied, for instance, to evaluate the development of distribution reliability and to consider actions to meet the tightening regulatory requirements. Thus, the methodology produces information for strategic decision-making so that DSOs can respond to challenges arising in the electricity distribution sector. The key contributions of the thesis are a network renovation concept for rural areas, an analysis to assess supply security, and an evaluation of the effects of economic regulation on the strategic network planning. In addition, the thesis demonstrates how the reliability aspect affects the placement of automation devices and how the reserve power can be arranged in a rural area network.

Mobile clinics in public health care: Integrated service offerings for rural elderly

This research is an analysis of the value and content of local service offerings that enable longer periods of living at home for elderly people. Mobile health care and new distribution services have provided an interesting solution in this context. The research aim to shed light on the research question, ‘How do we bundle services based on different customer needs?’ A research process consisting of three main phases was applied for this purpose. During this process, elderly customers were segmented, the importance of services was rated and service offerings were defined. Value creation and service offering provides theoretical framework for the research. The target group is South Karelia’s 60 to 90-year old individuals and the data has been acquired via a postal questionnaire. Research has been conducted as exploratory research utilizing the methods of quantitative and social network analysis. The main results of the report are identified customer segments and service packages that fits to the segments’ needs. The results indicate the needs of customers and the results are additionally analysed from the producer’s point of view. In addition to the empirical results, the used theory framework has been developed further in order for the service-related theories to be seen from the customer’s point of view and not just from the producer’s point of view.

Operations management in courts of justice - outlining functions, challenges and development possibilities

Professional services are an increasingly important group of economy and related to them there has been identified a fairly new concept called professional service operations management. However professional service operations management is still quite under-researched area which needs further research especially in specific contexts. This study aims to respond to that need by examining courts as an environment for operations management. As a result there is a preliminary structured description of what operations management is and could be in courts. The study also aims to inspire and tentatively classify possible areas for future research. Courts are examined based on three common perspectives for typical characteristics of professional services which can be identified in literature: the nature of customer role, the nature of professional work and the nature of process and product. The examination is based on research data from several research projects conducted in Finland and other European countries. Based on the examination it can be said that the operational environment of courts is highly complex and demanding because the case as an object of operations management tasks is challenging, the process sets strict requirements to the handling of the cases and the workforce is hard to direct.

Situando o desenvolvimento rural no Brasil: o contexto e as questões em debate

Addressing rural development discussions in Brazil: context and issues of debate. The work analyzes the main theoretical trends and subjects that integrate the recent Brazilian debate about rural development. We agued that the agenda of the rural development in Brazil, on which actively participate scholars, organizations and institutions, have been formulated by the State and the public politics implemented since the beginning of the 1990. Among the factors that had influenced the emergency of the debate about rural development is distinguished the increasing social and political legitimating of family farming and the agrarian reform, the reorientation of the state policies, the increasing sharply political and ideological quarrels with the agribusiness wing and the matters about sustainability. It is also argued that the analytical and interpretative references that have being used by the scholars are still diffuse and varied, but has been capable to influence the policy makers.