Multijurisdictional Safety Evaluation of Red Light Cameras

2005 ◽  
Vol 1922 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhagwant Persaud ◽  
Forrest M. Council ◽  
Craig Lyon ◽  
Kimberly Eccles ◽  
Mike Griffith
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Empirical Bayes ◽  
Red Light ◽  
Spillover Effect ◽  
Safety Evaluation ◽  
Economic Cost ◽  
The United States ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Outcome Variable

The use of red light camera (RLC) systems has risen dramatically in the United States in recent years. The size of the problem, the promise shown by RLC systems in other countries, and the paucity of definitive U.S. studies have motivated a multijurisdictional U.S. study. The fundamental objective of this study, which was sponsored by FHWA, was to determine the effectiveness of the RLC systems in reducing crashes at monitored intersections as well as jurisdictionwide. Phase I involved the development of a detailed experimental design that included collection of background information, establishment of study goals, selection of potential study jurisdictions, and specification of statistical methodology. In Phase 2, an empirical Bayes before-and-after study used data from seven jurisdictions across the United States, with a total of 132 treatment sites. Effects detected were consistent in direction with those found in many previous studies—a decrease in right-angle crashes and an increase in rear-end crashes—although both effects are somewhat lower than those reported in many sources. The extent to which the increase in rear-end crashes negates the benefits for right-angle crashes is unclear and points to the need for an examination of the economic cost of crashes, which is the subject of a companion paper, to aggregate the effects on rear-end, right-angle, and other crash costs. That second paper seeks to isolate all factors that would favor the installation of RLC systems by using the aggregate economic benefit as the outcome variable. There were weak indications of a spillover effect, which point to a need for a more definitive, perhaps prospective, study of this issue.

scholarly journals An Efficient Alternative to the CDC Gravid Trap for Southern House Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) Surveillance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy D McNamara ◽  
Thomas A O’Shea-Wheller ◽  
Nicholas DeLisi ◽  
Emily Dugas ◽  
Kevin A Caillouet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Mosquito Species ◽  
Red Light ◽  
Light Trap ◽  
The United States ◽  
Light Traps ◽  
Efficient Alternative ◽  
Gravid Trap ◽  
Trapping Trials

Abstract West Nile virus (WNV) is the most prevalent arbovirus found throughout the United States. Surveillance of surface breeding Culex vectors involved in WNV transmission is primarily conducted using CDC Gravid traps. However, anecdotal claims from mosquito abatement districts in Louisiana assert that other trap types may be more suited to WNV surveillance. To test the validity of these assertions, we conducted a series of trapping trials and WNV surveillance over 3 yr to compare the efficacy of multiple trap types. First, we compared the CDC Gravid trap, CO2-baited New Standard Miniature Blacklight traps, and CO2-baited CDC light traps with either an incandescent light, a red light, or no light. We found that the CDC Gravid trap and CO2-baited no-light CDC Light trap collected the most mosquitoes. Second, we conducted additional, long-term trapping and WNV surveillance to compare these two trap types. We found that CO2-baited no-light CDC traps collected more of the local WNV vector, Culex quinquefasciatus (Say, Diptera, Culicidae), and detected WNV with greater sensitivity. Finally, we conducted trapping to compare the physiological states of Cx. quinquefasciatus and diversity of collected mosquitoes. CO2-baited no-light CDC light traps collected more unfed Cx. quinquefasciatus while Gravid traps collected more blooded Cx. quinquefasciatus; both traps collected the same number of gravid Cx. quinquefasciatus. Additionally, we found that CO2-baited no-light CDC light traps collected a larger diversity of mosquito species than Gravid traps.

scholarly journals The Economic Effects of COVID-19 on the Producers of Ethanol, Corn, Gasoline, and Oil

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Schmitz ◽  
Charles B. Moss ◽  
Troy G. Schmitz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Economic Cost ◽  
The United States ◽  
Welfare Economic ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Corn Ethanol ◽  
Empirical Estimation ◽  
Total Oil

AbstractThe COVID-19 crisis created large economic losses for corn, ethanol, gasoline, and oil producers and refineries both in the United States and worldwide. We extend the theory used by Schmitz, A., C. B. Moss, and T. G. Schmitz. 2007. “Ethanol: No Free Lunch.” Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization 5 (2): 1–28 as a basis for empirical estimation of the effect of COVID-19. We estimate, within a welfare economic cost-benefit framework that, at a minimum, the producer cost in the United States for these four sectors totals $176.8 billion for 2020. For U.S. oil producers alone, the cost was $151 billion. When world oil is added, the costs are much higher, at $1055.8 billion. The total oil producer cost is $1.03 trillion, which is roughly 40 times the effect on U.S. corn, ethanol, and gasoline producers, and refineries. If the assumed unemployment effects from COVID-19 are taken into account, the total effect, including both producers and unemployed workers, is $212.2 billion, bringing the world total to $1266.9 billion.

Researching U.S. Federal Law: a Primer

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 158-175
Author(s):  
Marcia Singal Zubrow
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Information Search ◽  
The United States ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Basic Information ◽  
Federal Law ◽  
Search Techniques

AbstractThis article is designed for law librarians based outside the United States. The paper, written by Marcia Zubrow, provides basic information about the United States legal system and its sources. This background foundation to the article is important in understanding how to effectively use the two major U.S. databases, Lexis and Westlaw. The author describes the contents of the two databases within the context of the background information. Search techniques, including advance searching strategies, are described.

Estimating the Economic Cost of Childhood Poverty in the United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael McLaughlin ◽  
Mark R Rank
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Cost ◽  
The United States ◽  
Childhood Poverty

Are You Ready for Some Football? Estimating the Effect of American Football Season on Labor Supply in the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 152700252110246
Author(s):  
Luke Petach ◽  
Dustin Rumbaugh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Supply ◽  
Economic Cost ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Football ◽  
Hourly Wage ◽  
Market Models ◽  
Supply Effect ◽  
The Business Cycle

American football season reduces the Monday labor hours of employed men by two-thirds of an hour. A similar effect is found for Friday labor hours. We term these effects the “hangover effect” and “happy hour effect.” Consistent with a wide class of labor market models, the labor supply effect varies over the business cycle, increasing in expansions. The hangover effect implies an intertemporal elasticity of labor supply on the order of 0.014. Evaluated at the median hourly wage, our estimates imply an annual economic cost of foregone earnings associated with football season in the neighborhood of $5.06 billion.

scholarly journals Is It Time for the Beaver to Hop off the Eagle? A Case for Canada to Reconsider Its Geopolitical Alignment with the United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Zhou
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cold War ◽  
International System ◽  
Economic Cost ◽  
The United States ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Korean War ◽  
International Diplomacy

Canada is known for its close relations with the United States in the domains of economic affairs, defence and international diplomacy. This arrangement, however, was a product of the great changes brought about by the Second World War. The combination of British decline, Ottawa’s desire to achieve full independence from London, and the looming Soviet threat during the Cold War created a political environment in which Canada had to become closely integrated with the United States both militarily and economically. Canada did so to ensure its survival in the international system. With the exception of a few controversial issues like US involvement in Vietnam (1955) and Iraq (2003) as well as Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD), Ottawa has been Washington’s closest ally since 1945. On numerous occasions like the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and as recently as the War in Afghanistan and the War Against IS (Islamic State), Canada had provided staunch military and diplomatic support to Washington in its engagements around the globe. In an era of relative peace, stability, and certainty, particularly during the Post-Cold War period and the height of American power from 1991 to 2008, this geopolitical arrangement of continental integration had greatly benefited Canada. This era of benefits, however, is arguably drawing to a close. The Great Recession of 2007-09, the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the insistence on pursuing a foreign policy of global primacy despite its significant economic cost, are sending the US down an uncertain path. Due to its close relations and geographical proximity with the US, Canada now faces a hostile international environment that is filled with uncertainty as a result of superpower decline, great power rivalries, environmental degradation, and failed US interventions.

GIS, Spatial Analysis, and Modeling

2019 ◽  
pp. 1284-1297
Author(s):  
Khadijeh Rouzbehani ◽  
Ghazaleh Sajjadi ◽  
Mohamad Rahim Hatami
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
United States ◽  
At Risk ◽  
The United States ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Health Related Research ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Physical Environmental Factors ◽  
International Strategies

Breast cancer is a major health issue in all countries affecting thousands of women. Its causes are unknown and the national and international strategies to reduce its morbidity and mortality levels are based on early detection of cancer through screening and treatment according to clinical guidelines. Thus, knowledge of which women are at risk and why they are at risk is therefore essential component of disease prevention and screening. In 2015, an estimated 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the United States, along with 60,290 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer. The purpose of this study is to provide a more detailed analysis of the breast cancer distribution in the United States by comparing the spatial distribution of breast cancer cases against physical environmental factors using Geographic Information System (GIS). Further, it gives background information to the GIS and its applications in health-related research.

Resources for Historical Background

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeannette Brown
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Women Scientists ◽  
The United States ◽  
Women In Science ◽  
Black College ◽  
Background Information ◽  
History Of ◽  
Worth Reading ◽  
Background History

Many historians have written about the history of African Americans in science, but most of the articles focus only on the men and very little is written about the women. It would take additional research to find information pertaining only to the women. However, since both men and women lived through the same era, much of what affected the men also affected the women. The background information about black women chemists could probably fit into another book or at least a paper, but that was not within the scope of this book. Dr. Wini Warren, author of Black Women Scientists in the United States, did some extensive research on the background history of black women in science, which she planned to put into a future book; due to health problems it was never written. However, the Introduction to Dr. Warren’s book is well worth reading for some of the background history of the women. The endnotes in that chapter provide an extensive bibliography about the history of blacks in science. In addition, Dr. Warren includes an extensive discussion about the background history of black women scientists in the introduction of her thesis, “Hearts and Minds: Black Women Scientists in the United States 1900–1960.” Sisters in Science by Diann Jordan features author interviews of black women scientists, some of whom are chemists. The Introduction of her book, discusses the background history. Dr. Jordan also includes a history of black colleges in the section “The Role of the Black College in Educating African American Scientists.” Since many of the women in this book had their first college education in a black college, it is worth reading. Information about several of the African American women chemists in this book can be found in Contributions of Black Women to America, Volume 2. The Introduction and Chapter 1 in the “Science” section give some background information about the history of women in science.

GIS, Spatial Analysis, and Modeling

2017 ◽  
pp. 16-29
Author(s):  
Khadijeh Rouzbehani ◽  
Ghazaleh Sajjadi ◽  
Mohamad Rahim Hatami
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
United States ◽  
At Risk ◽  
The United States ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Health Related Research ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Physical Environmental Factors ◽  
International Strategies

Breast cancer is a major health issue in all countries affecting thousands of women. Its causes are unknown and the national and international strategies to reduce its morbidity and mortality levels are based on early detection of cancer through screening and treatment according to clinical guidelines. Thus, knowledge of which women are at risk and why they are at risk is therefore essential component of disease prevention and screening. In 2015, an estimated 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the United States, along with 60,290 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer. The purpose of this study is to provide a more detailed analysis of the breast cancer distribution in the United States by comparing the spatial distribution of breast cancer cases against physical environmental factors using Geographic Information System (GIS). Further, it gives background information to the GIS and its applications in health-related research.

The Benefits of Extending State Care to Young Adults

2019 ◽  
pp. 131-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark E. Courtney
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Transition To Adulthood ◽  
The United States ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Foster Care System ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
Potential Benefits

This chapter summarizes recent research in the United States providing evidence of the benefits of allowing youth in foster care to remain in care through their 21st birthdays. The chapter provides relevant background information about the foster care system in the United States, describes two studies that have considered the relationship between extended foster care and young people’s transition to adulthood, summarizes the findings of those studies regarding the potential benefits of extended care, and discusses the implications of the studies’ findings for policy and practice. As child welfare systems around the world increasingly continue to support young people in care into adulthood, research will be needed to ensure that these new care systems meet the needs of the young adults they serve.

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