Medium-sized Urban Areas Research Articles

Water markets as a mechanism for intersectoral water transfers: the Elqui Basin in Chile

The Elqui River in north-central Chile provides water for a medium-sized urban area and a small but thriving irrigated agriculture sector. A number of factors combined to provide incentive for the municipal water company servicing the coastal urban area to purchase water-use rights from irrigators in the early 1990s. This transfer was a well-recorded example of Chilean water markets functioning as proponents had expected. And despite the elapsed time, and Chile’s favorable system of transferable water-use rights, these trades remain among the very few recorded cases of intersectoral trading in the country. By purchasing water rights this water supply company was able to reduce its cost of raw water provision. Economic analysis of this transfer showed relatively modest economic gains from trade. Although, the value of water in municipal water supply is high, the value of water to profitable farmers is also high. The construction of the Puclaro Dam on the Elqui River demonstrates that the intersectoral water transfer that occurred in the early 1990s will not be the ultimate solution to the urban water supply needs of this urban area.

High risk of HIV in non-brothel based female sex workers in India

BackgroundHeterosexual contact is the most common mode of HIV transmission in India that is largely linked to sex work. We assessed the non-use of condoms in sex work and with regular sex partners by female sex workers (FSWs), and identified its associations that could assist in planning HIV prevention programmes.MethodsDetailed documentation of various aspects of sex work, and sexual behaviour with regular sex partners, was done through confidential interviews for 6648 FSWs in 13 districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Multivariate analysis was done to understand condom non-use with clients.Results5010 (75.4%), 1499 (22.5%), and 139 (2.1%) FSWs were street-, home-, and brothel-based, respectively. Of the total 6648 FSWs, 6165 (92.7%) had penetrative vaginal/anal sex with at least one client in the last 15 days, and of these 2907 (47.2%; 95% CI 41.2–53.2%) reported non-use of condom with at least one of her last three clients. Lack of knowledge that HIV could be prevented (odds ratio 5.01; 95% CI 4.38–5.73), no access to free condoms (odds ratio 3.45; 95% CI 2.99–3.98), being street-based as compared with brothel-based (odds ratio 3.36; 95% CI 1.87–6.04), and no participation in FSW support groups (odds ratio 2.02; 95% CI 1.50–2.70) were the most significant predictors of condom non-use with clients. Other associations included lower social support, lower income, age >24 years, illiteracy, and living in medium-size urban or rural areas. Of the 2582 who had penetrative sex with regular sex partner within the last 7 days, 2428 (94%; 95% CI 92.1–95.9%) had not used condom at last sex, and 1032 (41.8%) had neither used condom consistently with clients nor with regular sex partner.ConclusionAbout half the FSWs do not use condom consistently with their clients in this Indian state putting them at high risk of HIV infection. Non-brothel-based FSWs, who form the majority of sex workers in India, were at a significantly higher risk of HIV infection as compared with brothel-based FSWs. With their high vulnerability, the success of expansion of HIV prevention efforts will depend on achieving and sustaining an environment that enables HIV prevention with the non-brothel based FSWs.

Long-Term Survival After Acute Myocardial Infarction Is Lower in More Deprived Neighborhoods

As part of the Worcester Heart Attack Study, a community-wide study examining changes over time in the incidence and long-term case-fatality rates of greater Worcester, Mass, residents hospitalized with confirmed acute myocardial infarction (AMI), we investigated the hypothesis that census tract-level socioeconomic position is an important predictor of survival after hospital discharge for AMI, after adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics. Data were available for 3423 confirmed cases of AMI among metropolitan Worcester residents during the 4 study years of 1995, 1997, 1999, and 2001 who were followed up through the end of 2002. The mean age among patients was 69 years, and 58% were men. Using a multilevel Cox proportional hazards regression model, we estimated a 30% higher death rate after AMI for patients living in census tracts with the most residents living below the poverty line compared with patients living in the wealthiest census tracts (relative risk=1.30; 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.56). Similarly, patients living in census tracts with the highest proportion of residents with less than a high school education experienced a 47% higher death rate than patients living in census tracts with the lowest proportion of residents with less than a high school education (relative risk=1.47; 95% CI, 1.15 to 1.88). Within a medium-sized urban area, there are important variations in survival after hospital discharge for AMI that are associated with socioeconomic position. These associations persist after adjustment for demographic and clinical characteristics. Reasons for these differences warrant further investigation.

Nitrogen variations in the Little Tallapoosa River of west Georgia: The effect of seasonality, land usage, withdrawals, and point and nonpoint sources on water quality

Nitrogen as nitrite-nitrate-N, ammonia-N, and total Kjeldahl nitrogen was determined in surface waters of streams in the Little Tallapoosa watershed in the Piedmont province of west Georgia. Within the watershed are extensive pastures, hay fields, and forests. There are also four small- to medium-sized urban areas, rapidly growing housing developments, one landfill, five sewage treatment facilities, and one sewage spray application site near the Little Tallapoosa River. Nitrogen concentration data were determined weekly for nine sample stations on the Little Tallapoosa River and monthly to weekly for 24 sample stations on tributary streams in 2001 as part of the West Georgia Watershed Assessment. Results indicate that nitrite-nitrate-N levels reach their highest during late summer and early fall. The highest nitrogen levels occur in a tributary that heads in a cattle pasture inside a city that discharges treated sewage into the stream. Twelve-hour sampling at two additional sample stations following rain events in 2002 indicates that increases in ammonia-N closely follow significant rainfalls (>0.5 in.; >1.3 cm). Water withdrawals of more than 8 million gal/day (30,000 m3/day) by four major public suppliers from streams in the Little Tallapoosa watershed had no effect on nitrogen concentrations in the streams in 2001.

Method for Priority-Ranking and Expanding Freeway Service Patrols

Freeway service patrols (FSPs), classified as part of intelligent transportation systems, are programs that use roving vehicles to patrol congested and high-incident sections of freeways; they help to smooth traffic flow by aiding stranded motorists and assisting in incident clearance. Many major urban areas currently have patrols, and most medium-sized urban areas are following suit. The success of FSPs has resulted in frequent requests for service expansion. However, the decision on where to put the next patrol is becoming more difficult because an assessment of greatest need typically indicates that high-priority areas already have the service, whereas the possible effects of the service are often indistinguishable on lower-priority facilities. A new approach was developed to help determine the most beneficial locations for patrol deployment by using expanded placement criteria. North Carolina was used as a case study. Analysis of three incident and crash indexes was combined with spatial analysis, incident type distributions, average hourly freeway traffic volumes, and incident delay estimations to identify, evaluate, and compare candidate facilities for FSP expansion. Results of the research were incorporated into a decision support tool that allows easy planning and operational assessment of candidate sites by comparing performance values between sites, modeling the effect of FSPs, and estimating their key potential benefits. By using the tool, decision makers can quickly assess the needs of different facilities and make an informed, cost-effective decision on where to implement the next service patrol.

Prevalence of antibodies against group B streptococcal capsular polysaccharides in healthy Chinese neonates.

Prevalence of antibodies against group B streptococcal capsular polysaccharides in healthy Chinese neonates.

Racial, Economic, and Institutional Differences in Home Mortgage Loans: St. Joseph County, Indiana

ABSTRACT:Numerous studies have documented racial and economic disparities in the home mortgage market. Almost all of these have been done in large urban areas, many of which have long histories of racial conflict and discrimination. Further, little attention has been paid to institutional disparities, i.e., the ways in which mortgage lenders differ among themselves in their community reinvestment performance. In this study, we profile the home mortgage lending of several institutions doing business in the medium-sized urban area of St. Joseph County, Indiana. We find tremendous differences between lenders, suggesting that bank practices and policies exert a great impact on how well low income and minority neighborhoods and individuals are served. Lender characteristics, such as the legal structure of the institution (e.g., commercial bank, credit union, savings and loan), branch locations, and other factors are associated with these disparities. We conclude by suggesting that several heretofore ignored variables need closer examination.

Bus journey times in medium size urban areas

AbstractThe predictive accuracy of the models based on the fundamental relation between journey time and passenger demand can be improved through data disaggregation or route segmentation. Primary reason for this is the improvement in the estimates of stopping delays and delays due to passenger boarding and/or alighting (dwell time). Both Poisson and Negative Binomial model estimates of stoppings for passenger boarding and alighting are shown to improve with disaggregation. These improvements, however, contribute little to the overall predictability of the fundamental models which are useful for gaining insight into the significance and variability of the stopping delays and dwell time, or testing sensitivity to changes in the long term. Site or route specific models of journey times which have better predictive capability exist, and may be used for short‐run planning. However, the interchangeability and performance over time of the latter, have to be evaluated before making definitive conclusions.

Meteorologically adjusted air quality trends: Visibility

If trends in air quality are to be interpreted in terms of changes in pollutant emissions, the impact of meteorology on those trends needs to be removed. There is good reason to suspect that changes in the weather in the mideastern U.S. over the last 30 years may have contributed to the observed reduction in visual air quality. This report represents an attempt to extract changes in air quality which were not the result of changes in local meteorology. This analysis focuses on changes in visibility under meteorological conditions ‘typical’ for each locale and season over the period 1948–1981. Trends in visual air quality are summarized in terms of a weighted linear least-squares estimate of the percentage change in visibility over the entire 34 year period within each season and at each of 15 representative sites. Confidence limits associated with these percentage changes are evaluated. This meteorologically-adjusted analysis, which focuses on midrange visibility (60th percentile), is more optimistic than those which do not consider meteorological factors or an error analysis. At the metropolitan sites and in the more rural areas, declines in the summertime visibility appear moderate, and significant improvements in visual air quality are seen in the first and fourth quarters. In contrast, the fast growing, medium-sized urban areas do not show a significant improvement in the fall or winter, and the decline in spring and summer visibility levels at these sites is evident even after adjustment for changes in local meteorology.

The Urbanization Processes and the Social Structure of the Urban Population in Pakistan

Research Article| March 01 1974 The Urbanization Processes and the Social Structure of the Urban Population in Pakistan Vyacheslav Belokrenitsky Vyacheslav Belokrenitsky Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Far Eastern Survey (1945) 14 (3): 244–257. https://doi.org/10.2307/2643013 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Vyacheslav Belokrenitsky; The Urbanization Processes and the Social Structure of the Urban Population in Pakistan. Far Eastern Survey 14 February 1945; 14 (3): 244–257. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/2643013 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAsian Survey Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 1974 Regents of the University of California Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Analysis of Employment in the Manufacturing Sectors of Nine Urban Areas: The Relation between Average Hours Worked and Employment

This paper investigates the short-term relationship between changes in the average number of hours worked and the number of workers employed. Nine medium-sized urban areas in Michigan have been chosen for the study, which deals with production workers engaged in manufacturing. It is assumed that changes in external demand for manufactured goods directly effect the amount of labor used by the manufacturing sector of the nine areas. An increase in demand causes an increase in labor, while a decrease in demand has a negative effect on labor. Firms may adjust either the number of hours worked by their production workers or the number of workers they employ, or both. Correlation analysis is used to investigate the existence of leads or lags in the relationship between the two variables. A distributed-lag regression function is employed to examine the quantitative importance of this relationship. The results of correlation suggest a tendency for the two aggregate variables to change simultaneously or with short time lags. The time pattern of the relationship depends on a number of factors, the most important of which are discussed in the paper. The results of regression indicate that the strength of the quantitative relationship can vary from area to area when the relationship between employment and hours worked during the same period is considered, while no significant regional differences are observed in the strength of the relationship between employment and hours worked in previous periods. Some policy implications of the results are discussed at the end of the paper.

Short-term relationship between manufacturing and non-manufacturing employment in nine urban areas

This paper explores the short-term relationship between manufacturing and non-manufacturing employment in nine medium-sized urban areas in Michigan. More specifically, it examines the extent to which changes in employment in the non-manufacturing sector seem to be associated with changes in manufacturing employment; the existence of possible leads or lags in the relationship of the two employment sectors; and the quantitative importance of this relationship. It is assumed that, since the manufacturing sectors in the above areas export the largest part of their production, the fluctuations which occur in the demand for manufactures and in manufacturing employment are mainly due to external factors. The demand for non-manufacturing products and employment is then expected to fluctuate primarily as a result of the changes in the manufacturing sector. Correlation analysis is used to examine if there is any association in the variation of the two sectors and to detect any leads or lags. The results of this analysis suggest strong simultaneity in the variation of the two variables which may reflect the existence of unemployment and underemployment in certain industries and the influence of fluctuations that occur in the construction sector. A KOYCK-type distributed-lag regression function is used to investigate the quantitative importance of the relationship. The results of regression analysis suggest that a change in the number of manufacturing workers may cause a change in the number of non-manufacturing workers but the strength of the effect may vary according to the urban area. Some reasons for this are suggested in the paper.