THE IMPACT OF "BIG-BOX" BUILDING MATERIALS STORES ON HOST TOWNS AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES IN A MIDWESTERN STATE

This paper analyzes 11 regions in a midwestern state where big-box building materials stores have opened. The zero-sum-game theory is verified; the sales gains in the host counties equaled the losses in the surrounding counties. The results are important to existing merchants and local officials in setting strategies and policies.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

AN ANALYSIS OF THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM WEAK RETAIL COUNTIES TO STRONG RETAIL COUNTIES IN IOWA VIA LOCAL OPTION SALES TAXES

This study analyzes the transfer of tax dollars from "retail poor" to "retail rich" counties via local option sales taxes in Iowa. These taxes may potentially transfer more than one billion dollars from rural to urban counties over the next ten years. The implications for economic development policy are discussed.Public Economics,

Revisiting Wal-Mart\u27s impact on Iowa small town retail: twenty-five years later

Stone conducted the first study of Wal-Mart stores economic impact in Iowa in 1988. Since then, research on Wal-Mart’s impacts has exploded. Recent studies employ sophisticated statistical techniques to more accurately measure the size and direction of effects. Many reach conclusions similar to Stone’s original work. This paper updates the original Stone study with additional years of data. It draws on recent methodological advances to help account for Wal-Mart’s strategic location decisions on estimated retail sales impacts in Iowa. Consistent with previous studies, we find that Wal-Mart’s entry into smaller trade centers in Iowa had a big initial impact on host town retail sales, with some categories experiencing large significant increases while others saw declines in sales per capita. Wal-Mart’s presence helped to stabilize or even expand the local retail sector of most rural Iowa host communities. To conclude, policy implications for local economic development officials are discussed

Socially Disorganized Rural Communities

The article talks about the social disorganization of rural communities in the U.S. It is stated that family farming has been on the decline for decades, with the numbers of farmers dropping by 16 million since 1950 and farms decreasing by over 4 million during the past century. It is inferred that a part of a community\u27s history and way of life are being forfeited when local business are closing. According to the author, the theory of social disorganization emphasizes social integration and stability as necessary conditions for community. It offers some of the disadvantages of disorganized communities, such as the lack of collective efficacy

Apportionment of primary and secondary organic aerosols in Southern California during the 2005 Study of Organic Aerosols in Riverside (SOAR-1)

Ambient sampling was conducted in Riverside, California during the 2005 Study of Organic Aerosols in Riverside to characterize the composition and sources of organic aerosol using a variety of state-of-the-art instrumentation and source apportionment techniques. The secondary organic aerosol (SOA) mass is estimated by elemental carbon and carbon monoxide tracer methods, water soluble organic carbon content, chemical mass balance of organic molecular markers, and positive matrix factorization of high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer data. Estimates obtained from each of these methods indicate that the organic fraction in ambient aerosol is overwhelmingly secondary in nature during a period of several weeks with moderate ozone concentrations and that SOA is the single largest component of PM1 aerosol in Riverside. Average SOA/OA contributions of 70−90% were observed during midday periods, whereas minimum SOA contributions of ~45% were observed during peak morning traffic periods. These results are contrary to previous estimates of SOA throughout the Los Angeles Basin which reported that, other than during severe photochemical smog episodes, SOA was lower than primary OA. Possible reasons for these differences are discussed

Effects of gender and race on prognosis after myocardial infarction: Adverse prognosis for women, particularly black women

Controversy has arisen concerning whether gender influences the prognosis after myocardial infarction. Although some studies have shown there to be no difference between the sexes, most have indicated a worse prognosis for women, attributing this to differences in baseline characteristics. It has been further suggested that black women have a particularly poor prognosis after infarction. To determine the contribution of gender and race to the course of infarction, 816 patients with confirmed myocardial infarction who were enrolled in the Multi-center Investigation of the Limitation of Infarct Size (MILIS) were analyzed. Of those patients, 226 were women and 590 were men, 142 were black and 674 were white.The cumulative mortality rate at 48 months was 36% for women versus 21% for men (p < 0.001, mean follow-up 32 months). The cumulative mortality rate by race was 34% for blacks versus 24% for whites (p < 0.005). Both women and blacks exhibited more baseline characteristics predictive of mortality than did their male or white counterparts. It was possible to account for the greater mortality rate of blacks by identifiable baseline variables; however, even after adjustment, the mortality rate for women remained significantly higher (p < 0.002). The poorer prognosis for women was influenced by a particularly high mortality rate among black women (48%); the mortality rate for white women was 32%, for black men 23% and for white men 21%. The mortality for black women was significantly greater than that of the other subgroups. Thus, findings in the MILIS population indicate that the prognosis after myocardial infarction is worse for women, particularly black women

Does peer learning or higher levels of e-learning improve learning abilities? A randomized controlled trial

Background and aims : The fast development of e-learning and social forums demands us to update our understanding of e-learning and peer learning. We aimed to investigate if higher, pre-defined levels of e-learning or social interaction in web forums improved students&#x2019; learning ability. Methods : One hundred and twenty Danish medical students were randomized to six groups all with 20 students (eCases level 1, eCases level 2, eCases level 2+, eTextbook level 1, eTextbook level 2, and eTextbook level 2+). All students participated in a pre-test, Group 1 participated in an interactive case-based e-learning program, while Group 2 was presented with textbook material electronically. The 2+ groups were able to discuss the material between themselves in a web forum. The subject was head injury and associated treatment and observation guidelines in the emergency room. Following the e-learning, all students completed a post-test. Pre- and post-tests both consisted of 25 questions randomly chosen from a pool of 50 different questions. Results : All students concluded the study with comparable pre-test results. Students at Level 2 (in both groups) improved statistically significant compared to students at level 1 (p&#x003E;0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between level 2 and level 2+. However, level 2+ was associated with statistically significant greater student&#x0027;s satisfaction than the rest of the students (p&#x003E;0.05). Conclusions : This study applies a new way of comparing different types of e-learning using a pre-defined level division and the possibility of peer learning. Our findings show that higher levels of e-learning does in fact provide better results when compared with the same type of e-learning at lower levels. While social interaction in web forums increase student satisfaction, learning ability does not seem to change. Both findings are relevant when designing new e-learning materials