Lincoln, Yvonna, and Egon Guba, "Postpositivism and the Naturalist Paradigm," pp. 14-46 in Yvonna Lincoln and Egon Guba, Naturalistic Inquiry . Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1985.*

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides access to information on a variety of topics related to the environment and strives to inform citizens of health risks. The EPA also has an extensive library network that consists of 26 libraries throughout the United States, which provide access to a plethora of information to EPA employees, scientists, and researchers. The EPA implemented a reorganization project to digitize their materials so they would be more accessible to a wider range of users, but this plan was drastically accelerated when the EPA was threatened with a budget cut. It chose to close and reduce the hours and services of some of their libraries. As a result, the agency was accused of denying users the “right to know” by making information unavailable, not providing an adequate strategic plan, and discarding vital materials. This case study explores the background of the digitization project, the practices implemented, and the critiques of the project.

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The Environmental Protection Agency

Thermophysical Properties Research Literature Retrieval Guide Edited by Y. S. Touloukian, J. K. Gerritsen and N. Y. Moore Second edition, revised and expanded. Book 1: Pp. xxi + 819. Book 2: Pp.621. Book 3: Pp. ix + 1315. (New York: Plenum Press, 1967.) n.p.

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Heat and Mass Transfer

With a growing world population and increasingly demanding consumers, the production of sufficient protein from livestock, poultry, and fish represents a serious challenge for the future. Approximately 1,900 insect species are eaten worldwide, mainly in developing countries. They constitute quality food and feed, have high feed conversion ratios, and emit low levels of greenhouse gases. Some insect species can be grown on organic side streams, reducing environmental contamination and transforming waste into high-protein feed that can replace increasingly more expensive compound feed ingredients, such as fish meal. This requires the development of costeffective, automated mass-rearing facilities that provide a reliable, stable, and safe product. In the tropics, sustainable harvesting needs to be assured and rearing practices promoted, and in general, the food resource needs to be revalorized. In the Western world, consumer acceptability will relate to pricing, perceived environmental benefits, and the development of tasty insect-derived protein products.

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Potential of Insects as Food and Feed in Assuring Food Security

State-of-the-art on use of insects as animal feed.

Raw poultry litter has certain drawbacks for energy production such as high ash and moisture content, a corrosive nature, and low heating values. A combined solution to utilization of raw poultry litter may involve fractionation and pyrolysis. Fractionation divides poultry litter into a fine, nutrient-rich fraction and a coarse, carbon-dense fraction. Pyrolysis of the coarse fraction would remove the corrosive volatiles as bio-oil, leaving clean char. This paper presents the effect of fractionation and pyrolysis process parameters on the calorific value of char and on the characterization of bio-oil. Poultry litter samples collected from three commercial poultry farms were divided into 10 treatments that included 2 controls (raw poultry litter and its coarse fraction having particle size greater than 0.85 mm) and 8 other treatments that were combinations of three factors: type (raw poultry litter or its coarse fraction), heating rate (30 or 10 °C/min), and pyrolysis temperature (300 or 500 °C). A...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3155/1047-3289.60.7.875

Effect of fractionation and pyrolysis on fuel properties of poultry litter.

Citation: Turner A., J. Jackson, N. Koeninger, S. McNeill, M. Montross, M. E. Casada, J. M. Boac, R. Bhadra, R. G. Maghirang, and S. A. Thompson. 2016. Error Analysis of stored grain inventory determination. Transactions of ASABE 59(3): 1061-1072

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Error analysis of stored grain inventory determination

Engineers today need both engineering knowledge and social science knowledge to solve complex problems. However, most people have a traditional view of engineering as a field dominated by math and science foci, with little social consequence. This study examined and compared perceptions about engineering from Freshmen taking three different First Year introductory courses. Researchers used data from students’ responses in the Draw-an-Engineer-Test, an engineering problem analysis assessment, and interviews. The Treatment Group were students in an introductory engineering course in which they received instruction using an integrative learning module entitled, the “Water Module”, based on interdisciplinary learning theory. Control Group 1 were students in a “Traditional Engineering” course, and Control Group 2 were students taking a “Non-Engineering” course. Results indicate that students in the Treatment Group developed a better understanding of engineering and its social impact on society versus the two Control Groups. We suggest that integrative and interdisciplinary learning modules are effective for broadening students’ perspectives on engineering and its role in society.

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Investigating The Extent That An Integrative Learning Module Broadens The Perception Of First-Year Students About The Engineering Profession

An obstruction attached to the wall of a bin produced by cohesive, moldy grain has been reported as a source of failure in steel bins. A study was conducted to estimate the effect of two-dimensional (plane) and three-dimensional (block) obstructions attached to the corrugated wall in a flat-floor model bin where the lateral wall pressure and vertical wall loads were measured. The model bin was 1.83 m in diameter, 5.75 m high, and filled with soft red winter wheat to a depth of 5.0 m (height-to-diameter ratio h/d of 2.75). The plane obstruction had the form of an annulus segment spanning 60° of the bin wall and a width of 0.154 m (surface area of 7.2% of the bin floor area). A three-dimensional obstruction was shaped as a block with two bases identical to the plane obstruction and a height of 0.5 m. The plane obstruction and the upper base of the block obstruction were attached to the wall at h/d ratios of 1.26, 0.81, and 0.38. Even in conditions of near symmetry during centric loading, wall overturning moments of approximately 1 kNm were observed. The highest wall moment measured was 2.7 kNm at the end of filling with the block attached at h/d of 0.38; the moment with a plane obstruction in the same position was 2.1 kNm. Without an obstruction attached to the wall, the maximum lateral pressure increased 2.5 times relative to the static pressuer compared to an increase of 4 times with an obstruction. The data collected indicated that there are considerable additional loads imposed on a bin due to obstructions that may form during storage that are not considered in the design codes and could approach levels observed during eccentric discharge.

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Asymmetry of Model Bin Wall Loads and Lateral Pressure Induced from Two- and Three-Dimensional Obstructions Attached to the Wall

The purpose of this study was to develop a model to help engineering faculty overcome the challenges they face when asked to design and implement interdisciplinary curricula. Researchers at a U.S. University worked with an Interdisciplinary Consultant Team and prepared a steering document with Guiding Principles and Essential Elements for the design, implementation, and evaluation of integrative curricula in engineering education. The team also developed exemplar materials (Integrative Learning Module) to provide a practical example and demonstrate how the tools provided could be used in the development of new curricula. The Guiding Principles, Essential Elements, and Integrative Learning Module were evaluated by faculty and students who provided feedback for their improvement. Faculty indicated that the tools provided were appropriate guidelines for faculty, but they indicated that the Integrative Learning Module was too long to be a manageable example. Students agreed about the need for more interactive, real-world applications of engineering concepts, but they expressed differences of opinion regarding how humanities and social sciences topics should be addressed in the engineering curriculum. Students who participated in a course modeling the Integrative Learning Module were satisfied with its use and learning outcomes. After the course, these students were able to explain the importance of problem definition, process, and disciplinary integration in engineering work.

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Sidney A. Thompson

Papers

Effect of fractionation and pyrolysis on fuel properties of poultry litter.

Error analysis of stored grain inventory determination

Investigating The Extent That An Integrative Learning Module Broadens The Perception Of First-Year Students About The Engineering Profession

Asymmetry of Model Bin Wall Loads and Lateral Pressure Induced from Two- and Three-Dimensional Obstructions Attached to the Wall

Development of a Pedagogical Model to Help Engineering Faculty Design Interdisciplinary Curricula.