A Cultural Resources Survey Of the City of Turkey Well Field and Water Transmission Project Hall County, Texas

The City of Turkey (City) plans to develop a water well field and to construct a new water transmission line that will connect the well field with an existing municipal pump station southwest of the City in southern Hall County. The well field is currently privately owned and if deemed acceptable for the development, the property may be purchased by the City. Funding for the project will be through the Texas Water Development Board’s Economically Depressed Areas Program. The water transmission line route will be installed in an easement owned by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Hall County, and private property. The parts of the project located in the TxDOT and county easements are subject to the Antiquities Code of Texas, which requires the consideration of any potential effects on cultural resources before new construction projects begin. The survey was performed under Antiquities Permit 7227 by Antiquities Planning & Consulting (APC). The well field will be developed inside open land measuring 486.47 acres in size. Only parts of the property will be developed. The Area of Potential Effect (APE) where new construction will take place is not yet final. Water wells will be drilled inside the parcels with collection lines constructed from the wells to the water line. Water well pads will be located inside fenced areas measuring 110 feet by 110 feet and will total 0.28 acres in size. The APE for the water line will be about 5.25 miles long by 15 feet wide or about 9.5 acres in area. Of the waterline APE, 1.6 miles along County Road CC has been previously inspected for cultural resources. APC survey coverage included 102.2 acres in the proposed well field and 3.65 miles by 30 feet wide (13.2 acres) along SH 70 and FM 3323 for total coverage of about 115.4 acres. No new archeological sites or historic buildings were found. Parts of two existing archeological sites were revisited. Ineligible cultural materials were observed inside the remnants of Site 41HL2 and Site 41HL72 located in the SH 70 right-of-way. One isolated flake was found in the northern part of the well field on the surface. One small outbuilding was found inside the southern well field tract. The building is sheet metal with a construction date after 1967. The building is not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and/or as a State Archeological Landmark (SAL) based on lack of architectural style. During the survey no diagnostic artifacts were found. No artifacts were recovered from shovel testing or collected for analysis or curation. APC concludes that significant cultural resources eligible for listing in the NRHP and/or as SALs will not be affected by the proposed activity. APC, therefore, recommends that development of the City of Turkey Well Field and Water Transmission Line project proceed with one routine construction condition. APC recommends that if unexpected archeological deposits are exposed during construction, digging should stop at the discovery location and APC should be notified, by telephone at (512) 398-2946. The find should be evaluated by APC archeologists in consultation with the Texas Historical Commission before digging resumes at the location

Understanding Female Engineering Enrollment: Explaining Choice with Critical Engineering Agency

One path to increasing the diversity of the engineering workforce is to understand the affective self-beliefs of women who choose engineering and how those beliefs change over time. By understanding these self-beliefs, educators can help to empower women to identify with engineering and see its potential to make change in their world. Rigorous research in this area is needed and could have significant positive impact on the engineering workforce. This research builds on critical agency theory by validating and refining the frame-work of Critical Engineering Agency (CEA), though which students’ interest in engineering is enhanced when they see opportunities to make change in their world. This framework has been developed by drawing from prior qualitative research and through a quantitative national study. Structural equation modeling was used to understand the connections be-tween the constructs of CEA. Additional work was conducted to understand other factors that influence students’ choice of engineering. A pair of qualitative follow-up studies to this work were conducted to understand the reasons why students develop CEA and choose engineering as a career. The qualitative phase added explanatory context and interpretive power to previously identified relationships through open-ended surveys and a longitudinal case study. The results highlight the salience of the CEA framework, indicating that recog-nition beliefs are the most important piece of identity development and holding agency beliefs about the positive impact that engineering and science can have on the world is more important for women than men in affecting their engineering choice. Qualitative results illustrated how identity and agency beliefs form and how the connection between Communities of Practice and identity through agential bridging occurs. The results from an in-depth case study demonstrated how CEA is developed through constructed hybrid spaces and practically plays a role in engineering decisions and identity formation within an engineering Community of Practice. Students’ identities and agency beliefs provide insight into why students choose and persist in areas related to engineering, how professors might develop students’ internalization of recognition in the classroom, and how this CEA framework might provide a lens for future research. Providing high school and college faculty, admissions and recruitment staff, and college administrators with research-based strategies to increase female students’ personal engagement with engineering is an important step towards diversifying engineering

First in the Family: A Comparison of First-Generation and Non-First-Generation Engineering College Students

This study investigates first-generation and non-first-generation engineering undergraduates’ math/science identities, subject-related interests, and career plans. First-generation students are an understudied, but growing population. Understanding how these self-beliefs and background factors affect students’ engineering choice can help widen pathways into engineering which continues to be defined as “pale and male.” Additionally, identity has predictive value for practical outcomes like engineering choice in college. The data for this study comes from the nationally representative Sustainability and Gender in Engineering (SaGE) survey completed by 6,772 college students who enrolled in first-year English courses at 2- and 4-year colleges across the U.S. Data were analyzed using t-test and chi-square tests for linear and dichotomous outcomes respectively. Our results show differences in first-generation students’ identities, interests, performance/ competence beliefs, and family support for science. These differences can serve as a stepping stone towards understanding the trajectories of first-generation college students in engineering. By understanding underrepresented students’ identities, performance, and backgrounds, specific strategies can be developed to support these students in our engineering programs

Qualitative Study of First-Generation Latinas: Understanding Motivation for Choosing and Persisting in Engineering

Latina undergraduates pursuing an engineering degree continue to be an underrepresented group at four-year universities. Compared to their male counterparts, fewer women enter the field of engineering; however, of those Latino/as who do matriculate, they have the same likelihood of persisting as their White counterparts. Furthermore, a dearth of underrepresented students such as Latino/as and first-generation college students enter or remain in the field of engineering. The need for increased gender and racial/ethnic representation in engineering is a documented need allowing for the production of a wider range of innovative products that take into consideration different perspectives that represent the make-up of the nation as a whole. Recent studies demonstrate that Latinas who are enrolled in the field of engineering remain in engineering at higher rates than other ethnic minorities. In order to increase and retain greater ethnic and gender diversity in engineering, this research seeks to examine what motivates first-generation Latinas in engineering at an urban public university to pursue engineering and persist. Past research has investigated the experiences of first-generation students more generally, without distinguishing specific populations or their choice of study. In addition, several studies investigate why first-generation and underrepresented students drop out of college; some have found that it is due to an unclear purpose for college, adjustment issues to the college environment, and feelings of isolation. The perspectives of first-generation Latina engineering students are captured through conducting eight qualitative in-depth interviews and through analyzing their narratives. This research elucidates some of the reasons why Latinas choose engineering in college and why they continue in engineering using Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) as the theoretical framework. This theory posits that goals are cognitive accounts of what a person tries to accomplish and one’s purposes or reasons for doing the task. This research demonstrates that participants displayed a higher sense of purpose, not only in mastery and performance, but also in a sense of self-reliance and intellectual self. This research serves as a point of departure towards highlighting ways in which the field of engineering can become a more desirable major for first-generation Latina women. The results of this work point to specific methods for accomplishing this goal

Women in Managerial Positions: The Effective Administration of Social Services.

Presented at a Conference at Spring Hill, Room At The Top: Moving Women Into Administrative Positions In Social Welfare, Wayzata, Minnesota, January 23, 1978. Sponsored by the National Association of Social Workers, Minnesota Chapter and the Center for U

Kebencanaan Geologi Kelautan di Bagian Utara Pulau Obi, Maluku

Lokasi penelitian terletak di bagian utara pulau Obi, Maluku. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengkaji aspek kebencanaan geologi kelautan berupa pengumpulan data primer dan sekunder. Data primer meliputi hasil pengukuran kedalaman dan pemetaan karakteristik pantai. Data sekunder berupa energi gelombang yang dihitung melalui pendekatan energi fluks dari data angin di stasiun pengamatan Labuha/Taliabu tahun 2004 – 2013. Hasil penelitian berupa peta karakteristik pantai dan peta batimetri. Kedalaman daerah penelitian berkisar dari 0 sampai 310 meter dan perairan terdalam terletak di antara Pulau Obi dan Pulau Bisa. Kebencanaan geologi di Pulau Obi berupa banjir bandang, abrasi pantai dan tsunami.Kata kunci : kebencanaan geologi, energi fluks, banjir bandang, abrasi pantai dan tsunami, Pulau ObiThe study area is located on northern part of Obi Island, Moluccas. The research objective is to determine the potential of marine geological hazard by primary and secondary data collecting. Primary data consists of bathymetric and coastal characteristic mapping. Secondary data is from calculated wave energy flux by using wind data from Labuha / Taliabu observation stations (2004 – 2013). The result composed of coastal characteristic and bathymetric maps. The water depth range from 0 to 310 metres and the deepest part in between Obi and Bisa islands. The geological hazard on Obi Island consist of flooding,coastal abrasion and tsunami

Ventilation rates in recently constructed U.S. school classrooms

Low ventilation rates (VRs) in schools have been associated with absenteeism, poorer academic performance, and teacher dissatisfaction. We measured VRs in 37 recently constructed or renovated and mechanically ventilated U.S. schools, including LEED and EnergyStarâ certified buildings, using CO2 and the steadyâ state, buildâ up, decay, and transient mass balance methods. The transient mass balance method better matched conditions (specifically, changes in occupancy) and minimized biases seen in the other methods. During the school day, air change rates (ACRs) averaged 2.0±1.3 hourâ 1, and only 22% of classrooms met recommended minimum ventilation rates. HVAC systems were shut off at the school day close, and ACRs dropped to 0.21±0.19 hourâ 1. VRs did not differ by building type, although costâ cutting and comfort measures resulted in low VRs and potentially impaired IAQ. VRs were lower in schools that used unit ventilators or radiant heating, in smaller schools and in larger classrooms. The steadyâ state, buildâ up, and decay methods had significant limitations and biases, showing the need to confirm that these methods are appropriate. Findings highlight the need to increase VRs and to ensure that energy saving and comfort measures do not compromise ventilation and IAQ.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138411/1/ina12384.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138411/2/ina12384_am.pd

Biosafety Research for Non-Target Organism Risk Assessment of RNAi-Based GE Plants

RNA interference, or RNAi, refers to a set of biological processes that make use of conserved cellular machinery to silence genes. Although there are several variations in the source and mechanism, they are all triggered by double stranded RNA (dsRNA) which is processed by a protein complex into small, single stranded RNA, referred to as small interfering RNAs (siRNA) with complementarity to sequences in genes targeted for silencing. The use of the RNAi mechanism to develop new traits in plants has fueled a discussion about the environmental safety of the technology for these applications, and this was the subject of a symposium session at the 13th ISBGMO in Cape Town, South Africa. This paper continues that discussion by proposing research areas that may be beneficial for future environmental risk assessments of RNAi-based genetically modified plants, with a particular focus on non-target organism assessment

Modelling Delay of Road Construction Projects in 'No Funding-Stress' Scenario using Ordinal Logistic Regression Approach

The study examined critical delay causative factors impacting the delivery of road projects in 'no funding stress' scenario and modelled the variables as a procedural step towards capturing and managing their occurrence in such a scenario. The study adopted a quantitative descriptive approach, which was based on a questionnaire survey. A total of thirty-six organisations that were involved in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) road projects in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria constituted the study population. These were distributed as; 8 client organisations, 13 consulting organisations, and 15 contracting organisations. A total enumeration of the 36 organizations enabled 153 professionals distributed as; 33 quantity surveyors and 120 civil/structural engineers to be sampled. Inferential statistics, rating weighted agreement (RWA), and impact weighting (IW) were employed to isolate the critical factors. Ordinal logistic regression (OLR) was used to model the delay, which was validated using a split-quarter cross-validation method. Twenty-nine critical causative factors were derived with the top three as; mobilization delay, interference by political leader, and high rate of inflation. Ordinary Logistic Regression enabled 11 variables, which had Wald's statistic significant at a p-value ≤ 0.25 to be selected among the 29 critical causative factors for developing a model that predicts project delay quantum in 'no funding stress' scenario. The study provided implications both for project management and government policy development. In the first place, empirical evidence provided is suitable for managing road project delivery in a 'no funding stress' scenario through the development of metrics for improvement of time performance. Most importantly, the study modelled the time variables in this scenario to assist in predicting project delay quantum from inception. The findings also provide implications for government policy response, which would guide the delivery of regional intervention projects. Empirical evidence is provided on road project delivery with special funding intervention that results in a 'no funding stress' scenario. Modelling delay occurrence in such a scenario extends the quantitative approach to the body of knowledge on time performance management in road project delivery.Keywords: Critical impact factors, delay, Niger Delta Region, ordinal logistic regression, Pareto principle, road construction projects.DOI: 10.7176/CER/12-9-07Publication date:September 30th 202