Airport noise predicts song timing of European birds

Anthropogenic noise is of increasing concern to biologists and medical scientists. Its detrimental effects on human health have been well studied, with the high noise levels from air traffic being of particular concern. However, less is known about the effects of airport noise pollution on signal masking in wild animals. Here, we report a relationship between aircraft noise and two major features of the singing behavior of birds. We found that five of ten songbird species began singing significantly earlier in the morning in the vicinity of a major European airport than their conspecifics at a quieter control site. As birds at both sites started singing before the onset of air traffic in the morning, this suggests that the birds in the vicinity of the airport advanced their activity to gain more time for unimpaired singing before the massive plane noise set in. In addition, we found that during the day, chaffinches avoided singing during airplane takeoffs, but only when the noise exceeded a certain threshold, further suggesting that the massive noise caused by the airport can impair acoustic communication in birds. Overall, our study indicates that birds may be adjusting their mating signals and time budgets in response to aircraft noise

FIRE-MAKING USING A STONE `STRIKE-A-LIGHT' IN THE SOA BASIN OF FLORES, INDONESIA

During recent archaeological fieldwork on the island of Flores in eastern Indonesia, the author observed a firemaking technique involving the use of a stone `strike-alight' (see Skertchly 1879). The strike-a-light used was a chalcedony flake scavenged from a prehistoric site; hence the fire-making technique has archaeological and in particular, taphonomic, significance

News and Notes

Although it was the Communal Societies Association Board Meeting that prompted my return to the windy city, it was my renewed acquaintance with Reba Place Fellowship that turned one visit into two. In April, the CSA board met in a conference room at Jesus People USA (hereafter JPUSA), in the Uptown area of Chicago. As it turned out, the former hotel and now residence and nerve center for the JPUSA organization is only some six miles from Reba Place in south Evanston. That made it possible for me to both attend the meeting and reconnect with Reba Place Fellowship, which I initially visited in 1971

Effect of a Low Phytate, Nutrient Dense Corn on Pig Performance

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of a low phytate, nutrient dense corn variety on pig performance, fecal phosphorus and fecal nitrogen. Experimental treatments were: 1) corn-soybean meal diets formulated with purchased yellow corn; 2) similar diets formulated with 500 FTU/kg phytase; 3) diets formulated with a nutrient dense corn variety having a reduced phytic acid, elevated lysine, and higher energy compared to yellow corn; and 4) diets formulated with the nutrient dense corn variety and phytase at 500 FTU/kg to 130 lb BW and blended with yellow corn thereafter based on estimated available phosphorus. There was no difference in daily gain or daily feed for pigs fed the normal yellow corn diets with or without phytase. However, when phytase was added to the nutrient dense corn from arrival to 130 lb and the estimated available phosphorus was balanced by blending normal yellow corn and the nutrient dense corn from 130 lb to slaughter, daily gain and daily feed intake were reduced. Phosphate in the feces was reduced for all diets compared to the yellow corn diet without phytase. However, nitrogen was increased in the feces from pigs fed diets containing the nutrient dense corn due to its higher crude protein compared to yellow corn. These results suggest that when diets are formulated on an equal lysine, energy and available phosphorus basis, pigs have similar performance for diets formulated with yellow corn, yellow corn plus phytase and a nutrient dense corn variety. However, these results do not support blending of yellow corn and the nutrient dense variety based on available phosphorus content. Further research is warranted to determine the cause for the depression in daily gain and daily feed reported for this treatment

Pen Space Allocations and Pelleting of Swine Diets

An experiment was conducted to determine whether an interaction exists between pen space allocation (14 versus 19 pigs per pen in 8 x 14 ft pens) and physical form of the diet (meal versus pellet) in a fully slatted facility. There were no interactions between diet form and pen space allocation for daily gain, feed intake or feed conversion efficiency. Pigs fed pelleted diets had a 2.3 percent improvement in daily gain and a 7.9 percent improvement in feed efficiency. Although pigs housed 14-per-pen grew faster than those housed 19-per-pen with no difference in feed conversion efficiency, pigs in the 19-pig pens produced 30 percent more live weight gain per square foot of pen space during the 106-day trial. There were no differences in death loss or body weight variation within the pens of pigs. These results suggest the response to pelleting is similar, regardless of pen space allocations and that pen space allocations affect not only pig performance, but also weight gain per unit of pen space. This has implications for income-per-unit of facility cost

Competency-Based Assessment of Engineering Technology Program Outcomes

ABET is the preeminent organization in the U.S. for accreditation of 2- and 4-yr college-level educational programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology. ABET accreditation regimes require program outcomes assessment. The Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC) of ABET is charged with accrediting two- and four-yr Engineering Technology (ET) programs. The 4-year ET major at the University of Delaware is a general ET program; and, for the purposes of TAC of ABET accreditation, must demonstrate its graduates have mastered the a through k program outcomes listed in TAC of ABET documentation for Criterion 3 of its General Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Technology Programs. The a through k program outcomes, which include such statements as: a. an appropriate mastery of the knowledge, techniques, skills and modern tools of their disciplines, and b. an ability to apply creativity in the design of systems, components or processes appropriate to program objectives, are notoriously difficult to assess because they require complex blends of interdependent skills, the evaluations of which may be influenced by considerable subjectivity. Iowa State University (ISU) 3 has adopted a competency-based assessment approach to demonstrate program outcomes for Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET 2 accreditation of all its engineering programs in addition to its programs in agricultural systems technology and industrial technology. The ISU technology programs are accredited by the Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering 4 . In consultation with graduates and industry partners, ISU developed a set of 14 “workplace competencies.” Each competency was designed to be “clear, concise and independent of all others” 3 . Each competency is demonstrated by a “set of observable and measurable key actions.” The confounding that plagues assessment of the ABET a-k program outcomes is avoided, and a measure of objectivity is introduced. The ISU competencies were determined to be “necessary and sufficient to address the EAC of ABET a-k outcomes” 3 , and a matrix mapping the ISU workplace competencies to the EAC of ABET a-k outcomes was developed. This paper describes the adaptation of ISU’s competency-based assessment approach for outcomes assessment and TAC of ABET accreditation of the University of Delaware’s ET program. University of Delaware student competencies, derived from the ISU student competencies, are mapped to the TAC of ABET a-k program outcomes. As with ISU’s approach, a student ePortfolio system is utilized. Evaluations of competencies are informed by the student’s performance in a “Discovery Learning Experience”—either a technical practicum in industry or an undergraduate research project

The Data Are In: Student Workplace Competencies in the Experiential Workplace

Workplace competencies describe the skills, knowledge and behaviors students will need to be successful as engineers. Experiential education (co-ops and internships) is critical to the preparation of engineering students as practicing professionals. The experiential workplace is one of the best places for students to develop and demonstrate workplace competencies. At Iowa State University, we have been assessing the workplace competencies of engineering students in the experiential workplace for the past four years. This paper discusses the process by which we identified the most important workplace competencies in partnership with our constituents (employers, faculty, experiential education students, and parents), the assessment tools used, the results across from the last four years, and the implications of these results for engineering education at Iowa State, outcomes assessment and continuous improvement in our curricula

Holistic Student Professional Development and Assessment: A Backward Design Approach

The paper, "Holistic Student Professional Development and Assessment: A Backward Design Approach (Baughman, Brumm and Mickelson), JTMAE 31/1, April–June 2014" is a copyrighted publication of ATMAE. This paper has been republished with the authorization of ATMAE, and may be accessed directly from the JTMAE website at http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.atmae.org/resource/resmgr/articles/baughmanbrummmickelson_vol31.pdf.</p