Evaluation of Low-Cost Treatments on Rural Two-Lane Curves, TR-579, 2012

The objective of this project was to evaluate low-cost measures to reduce speeds on high-crash horizontal curves. The researchers evaluated two low-cost treatments in Iowa to determine their effectiveness in reducing speeds on rural two-lane roadways. This report summarizes how the research team selected sites and collected data, and the results. The team selected six sites. Retroreflective post treatments were added to existing chevrons at four sites and on-pavement curve markings were added at two sites. The researchers collected speed data before and after installation of the two treatments. The study compared several speed metrics to assess the effectiveness of the treatments. Overall, both were moderately effective in reducing speeds. The most significant impact of the treatments was in reducing the percentage of vehicles traveling over the posted or advisory speed by 5, 10, 15, or 20 or more mph. This result suggests that the treatments are most effective in reducing high-end speeds.

Farm Families Alive and Well, March 2016, Vol. 22, no. 2

News from Iowa’s Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (I-CASH)

Evaluating the Relationship between the Driver and Roadway to Address Rural Intersection Safety using the SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study Data, RB05-013, 2016

Rural intersections account for 30% of crashes in rural areas and 6% of all fatal crashes, representing a significant but poorly understood safety problem. Transportation agencies have traditionally implemented countermeasures to address rural intersection crashes but frequently do not understand the dynamic interaction between the driver and roadway and the driver factors leading to these types of crashes. The Second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) conducted a large-scale naturalistic driving study (NDS) using instrumented vehicles. The study has provided a significant amount of on-road driving data for a range of drivers. The present study utilizes the SHRP 2 NDS data as well as SHRP 2 Roadway Information Database (RID) data to observe driver behavior at rural intersections first hand using video, vehicle kinematics, and roadway data to determine how roadway, driver, environmental, and vehicle factors interact to affect driver safety at rural intersections. A model of driver braking behavior was developed using a dataset of vehicle activity traces for several rural stop-controlled intersections. The model was developed using the point at which a driver reacts to the upcoming intersection by initiating braking as its dependent variable, with the driver’s age, type and direction of turning movement, and countermeasure presence as independent variables. Countermeasures such as on-pavement signing and overhead flashing beacons were found to increase the braking point distance, a finding that provides insight into the countermeasures’ effect on safety at rural intersections. The results of this model can lead to better roadway design, more informed selection of traffic control and countermeasures, and targeted information that can inform policy decisions. Additionally, a model of gap acceptance was attempted but was ultimately not developed due to the small size of the dataset. However, a protocol for data reduction for a gap acceptance model was determined. This protocol can be utilized in future studies to develop a gap acceptance model that would provide additional insight into the roadway, vehicle, environmental, and driver factors that play a role in whether a driver accepts or rejects a gap.

Guidelines for the Inclusion of Left-Turn Lanes at Rural Highway Intersections, HR-147, 1970

Provision of left turn lanes is a major problem which lacks an objective approach. Various techniques and procedures in use have been reviewed. Traffic characteristics at typical Iowa intersections have been measured. A rational approach for inclusion of a left turn lane has been developed, based on relating the benefits to the road user to the cost of providing the added turing lane. An analysis of field data gathered under this project indicates that the use of theoretical distribution to describe vehicle headways is not applicable to rural Iowa two lane roads. As an alternate approach the mass of field data gathered were examined using multiple regression techniques to yield equations for predicting stops and delays. The benefit-cost ratio technique is recommended as the criterion for decision making.

Traffic Management Strategies for Merge Area in Rural Interstate Work Zones, CTRE 97-12, 1999

The Iowa Department of Transportation, like many other state transportation agencies, is experiencing growing congestion and traffic delays in work zones on rural interstate highways. The congestion results in unproductive and wasteful delays for both motorists and commercial vehicles. It also results in hazardous conditions where vehicle stopped in queues on rural interstate highways are being approached by vehicles upstream at very high speeds. The delays also result in driver frustration, making some drivers willing to take unsafe risks in an effort to bypass delays. To reduce the safety hazards and unproductive delays of congested rural interstate work zones, the Iowa Department of Transportation would like to improve its traffic management strategies at these locations. Applying better management practices requires knowledge of the traffic flow properties and driver behavior in and around work zones, and knowledge of possible management strategies. The project reported here and in a companion report documents research which seeks to better understand traffic flow behavior at rural interstate highway work zones and to estimate the traffic carrying capacity of work zone lane closures. In addition, this document also reports on technology available to better manage traffic in and around work zones.

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.

Modelo multicritério aditivo na geração de mapas de suscetibilidade à erosão em área rural

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a geração de um mapa de suscetibilidade à erosão, em área rural, no Município de Guararapes, SP, por meio de modelo multicritério aditivo. Foram utilizados mapas digitais dos temas: relevo (declividade e comprimento das rampas); pedologia (obtida em campo); uso e cobertura das terras da região; e interpretação do modelo digital de elevação. Os mapas digitais foram tratados em ambiente de sistema de informação geográfica, por meio do método multicritério aditivo, e validados pelo modelo da equação universal de perda de solo (USLE). Foram geradas cinco classes de suscetibilidade à erosão: baixa, moderada, alta, muito alta e altíssima. O mapa de risco obtido por multicritério aditivo teve boa correspondência com o modelo USLE. O mapa de suscetibilidade à erosão pode ser aplicado ao planejamento agrícola e ambiental da área rural do Município de Guararapes.

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.

Family interactions in IVF families: change over the transition to parenthood

Objective: This article presents a study of the change over time in the family interactions of couples who conceived through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). Background: Observational methods are rarely used to study family interactions in families who used assisted reproductive techniques, but these methods are crucial for taking account of the communication that occurs in interactions with infants. Methods: Thirty-one couples expecting their first child were seen during the fifth month of pregnancy and when the child was nine months old. Family interactions were recorded in pre- and postnatal versions of the Lausanne Trilogue Play situation. Measures of marital satisfaction and parent-to-foetus/baby attachment or 'bonding' were also used to assess family relational dynamics. Results: Results showed that family alliance, marital satisfaction and parental attachment scores in the IVF sample were all similar to or higher than those in the reference sample during pregnancy. However, at nine months postnatally, the family alliance scores were lower. While marital satisfaction decreased over the period and parent-baby attachment increased, the family alliance scores were unstable, as no association was observed between the pre- and postnatal scores. In addition, neither prenatal marital satisfaction nor parent-foetus attachment predicted the postnatal family alliance. Conclusion: The change in the family alliance over the transition to parenthood appears to be specific to our IVF sample. Given that postnatal family functioning could not be predicted by prenatal family functioning, our observational data underline the importance of offering postnatal support to these families.

Early selection in open-pollinated Eucalyptus families based on competition covariates

The objetive of this work was to evaluate the influence of intergenotypic competition in open-pollinated families of Eucalyptus and its effects on early selection efficiency. Two experiments were carried out, in which the timber volume was evaluated at three ages, in a randomized complete block design. Data from the three years of evaluation (experiment 1, at 2, 4, and 7 years; and experiment 2, at 2, 5, and 7 years) were analyzed using mixed models. The following were estimated: variance components, genetic parameters, selection gains, effective number, early selection efficiency, selection gain per unit time, and coincidence of selection with and without the use of competition covariates. Competition effect was nonsignificant for ages under three years, and adjustment using competition covariates was unnecessary. Early selection for families is effective; families that have a late growth spurt are more vulnerable to competition, which markedly impairs ranking at the end of the cycle. Early selection is efficient according to all adopted criteria, and the age of around three years is the most recommended, given the high efficiency and accuracy rate in the indication of trees and families. The addition of competition covariates at the end of the cycle improves early selection efficiency for almost all studied criteria.

El món romà a Alcanar i al Montsià. Un exemple de poblament rural a l’antic ager dertosanus

L’estudi dels materials ceràmics trobats als jaciments romans del Cementeri (Alcanar) i la Torreta (Ulldecona) ens permet emmarcar-ho en l’àmbit comarcal i efectuar una aproximació al desenvolupament de la romanització a la comarca del Montsià i a les terres veïnes del Baix Maestrat.

Turisme cultural en un espai rural

En els darrers quinze anys hem pogut constatar un lent creixement del turisme en els espais naturals i en els espais culturals. Ara, els escenaris rurals, els paisatges de muntanya mitjana, els nuclis rurals, els museus etnogràfics o les petites esglésies romàniques s'integren en el catàleg de productes turístics contemporanis, juntament amb les colònies Industrials, alguns centres comercials, espais d'oci programats o centres de producció