RFID Applied to Supply Chain Logistics in Disaster Recovery

The purpose of this paper is to review recent developments to use RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) for supply chain logistics in the construction industry and identify potential applications of this technology for disaster recovery in construction operations. Natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and extreme weather conditions can cause significant damage to local communities and disruptions to the local supply chain. The effective movement of resources during disaster recovery operations is critical in a postdisaster recovery environment. RFID technology has advanced to the level that the technology could be used to improve the supply chain preparedness, people, material and equipment locating and tracking, and corresponding billing operations in many industries. Current RFID technology could be used in the construction industry in areas to automate material tracking in off-site warehouse of construction firms or suppliers, to establish initial location of material received on construction sites, to track materials that are being shared and in common areas for multiple construction sites, to restock material in laydown or warehouses, to minimize material over-ordering with better tracking of quantity information, to reduce loss from theft and support site security measures, and to assist site equipment and fuel management. Studies have shown that 3.1% of total construction costs could be saved after implementing RFID technology tagging and tracking materials on site and in warehouses. In the case of after-natural-disasters reconstruction, materials locating and tracking activities are highly valuable because disaster relief reconstruction site conditions are more challenging than regular construction site conditions. Reconstruction resources are often limited and difficult to move in and out. Significant construction cost savings can be achieved with RFI-enabled material tracking and locating systems. A review of the current technology provides many emerging applications of RFID technology for the broader construction industry. This paper examines direct applications of RFID for disaster relief reconstruction operations

Multiple–True–False Questions Reveal the Limits of the Multiple–Choice Format for Detecting Students with Incomplete Understandings

By having students select one answer among several plausible options, multiple–choice (MC) questions capture a student’s preferred answer but provide little information regarding a student’s thinking on the remaining options. We conducted a crossover design experiment in which similar groups of introductory biology students were assigned verbatim questions in the MC format or multiple–true–false (MTF) format, which requires students to separately evaluate each option as either true or false. Our data reveal that nearly half of the students who select the correct MC answer likely hold incorrect understandings of the other options and that the selection rates for individual MC options provide inaccurate estimations of how many students separately endorse each option. These results suggest that MC questions systematically overestimate question mastery and underestimate the prevalence of mixed and partial conceptions, whereas MTF questions enable students and instructors to gain a more nuanced portrait of student thinking with little additional effort

How Administration Stakes and Settings Affect Student Behavior and Performance on a Biology Concept Assessment

Biology instructors use concept assessments in their courses to gauge student understanding of important disciplinary ideas. Instructors can choose to administer concept assessments based on participation (i.e., lower stakes) or the correctness of responses (i.e., higher stakes), and students can complete the assessment in an in-class or out-of-class setting. Different administration conditions may affect how students engage with and perform on concept assessments, thus influencing how instructors should interpret the resulting scores. Building on a validity framework, we collected data from 1578 undergraduate students over 5 years under five different administration conditions. We did not find significant differences in scores between lower-stakes in-class, higher-stakes in-class, and lower-stakes out-of-class conditions, indicating a degree of equivalence among these three options. We found that students were likely to spend more time and have higher scores in the higher-stakes out-of-class condition. However, we suggest that instructors cautiously interpret scores from this condition, as it may be associated with an increased use of external resources. Taken together, we highlight the lower-stakes out-of-class condition as a widely applicable option that produces outcomes similar to in-class conditions, while respecting the common desire to preserve classroom instructional time

Knowing your own: A classroom case study using the scientific method to investigate how birds learn to recognize their offspring

Understanding the scientific method provides students with a necessary foundation for careers in science-related fields. Moreover, students can apply scientific inquiry skills in many aspects of their daily lives and decision making. Thus, the ability to apply the scientific method represents an essential skill that students should learn during undergraduate science education. We designed an interrupted case study in which students learn about and apply the scientific method to investigate and recapitulate the findings of a published research article. This research article addresses the question of how parents recognize their own young in a system where birds of the same species lay eggs in each other’s nests. The researchers approach the question through three experiments in which the bird’s own offspring and unrelated offspring hatch in different orders. This experiment specifically tests for the effect of hatching order on the bird’s ability to recognize its own offspring. In the case study, students form hypotheses based on behavioral observations made while watching a video clip, together with background information provided by the instructor. With additional information about the experimental design, students make graphical predictions for the three related experiments, compare their predictions to the results, and draw conclusions based on evidence. This lesson is designed for introductory undergraduate students, and we provide suggestions on how to adjust the lesson for more advanced students. This case study helps students differentiate between hypotheses and predictions, introduces them to constructing and interpreting graphs, and provides a clear example of the scientific method in action

Prospectus, July 18, 1984

AMERICAN BUSINESS WOMEN\u27S ASSOCIATION SHOOTING STAR CHAPTER…HONORS TWO OF PARKLAND\u27S OWN…SCHERL ZAMARY WAS CHOSEN WOMEN OF THE YEAR AND BOB ABBUEHL WAS SELECTED AS BOSS OF THE YEAR; Crisis nursery ready to help; Community Calendar; Concert in Park with PC Choral Union; Concert for Senior Citizens; Outdoor Break Dance Festival; C.I.A. promotes \u27independent thinking\u27; Vague and evasive answers angers reporter; Costa survives slide; Zamary and Abbuehl always \u27there\u27 when needed; The unsung heros of Parkland; Bigger and better Fair; Younger students attend PC; Entertain with summer recipes; Did You Know...; Last Starfighter; Teens dance...; Cars finally hit number one; Staub delves into effects of horror on human psyche; Rooney relates on down to earth level; Games people play-by Dr. Ima Sorloser; Annual Abe\u27s Amble Run; No magic solutions-just understanding and action; Cold steel; Martin offered scholarship to Southern Ill. University; Sports Digesthttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1984/1016/thumbnail.jp

Prospectus, April 26, 1984

PARKLAND COLLEGE AUTHOR\u27 WORK DISPLAYED IN LIBRARY; News Digest; Senior Citizen starts new life as others retire; Letter to the editor; PC Happenings; Office Careers Contest winners told; Campus computers easy targets; CRC takes steps forward; Benefit dance; Discover quiet places -- interesting reading as you enjoy sleuthing in the library; Arbor Day celebration; Newly-computerized colleges run into \u27brick wall\u27; Blood drive a success; Classifieds; Did You Know...; Parkland\u27s M.A.P. to help math students find way; \u27Iceman\u27 has potential; WILL salutes friends; \u27Swing Shift\u27 filled with courage and triumph; Women lose one, tie one; Cobras lose to Wabash Valley; Cobras split doubleheader; Cobras downed; Sports Digest; Board approves scholarships; Parkland\u27s women fast-pitch softball roster; 1984 Parkland Outdoor Track Bestshttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1984/1023/thumbnail.jp

Prospectus, January 18, 1984

HINTS FOR SURVIVING SPRING SEMESTER AT PARKLAND COLLEGE; News Digest; Blair, Henriksen ready for Olympics; Prospectus needs your ideas; PC Happenings: Election board news, Convocations director needed; Winter driving; New doll helps diabetics; I.D. cards; Staerkel tries to keep campus open despite Illinois\u27 unpredictable weather; Walsh helps in taking over advertising; Snow plows save cities in winter; Spring calendar; Classifieds; Question: Who or what influenced you the most in deciding what direction your life would take?; Flirting as an art still alive; Highway deaths down; Drinking hurts unborn; New rock band; Foreign students experience snow; Campus organizations at Parkland; The best and worst movies of the year 1983; Disney re-releases classic film; Endearment best picture; D.C. Cab is better than most; Campus Paperback Bestsellers; New & Recommended; The Keep, classic horror; In the library--paperbacks; Phase IV nears completion; New student grant; PC grad to Texas; Cobras win opener; Parkland loses close one; I.M. News; Second losshttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1984/1034/thumbnail.jp

Effects of radiotransmitters on fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels of three-toed box turtles in captivity

The increased use of radio-telemetry for studying movement, resource selection, and population demographics in reptiles necessitates closer examination of the assumption that radiotransmitter attachment does not bias study results. We determined the effects of radiotransmitter attachment on fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels of wild three-toed box turtles (Terrapene carolina triunguis) in captivity. During May 2002 we captured 11 adult three-toed box turtles in central Missouri. We housed turtles in individual pens in a semi-natural outdoor setting. We radio-tagged 6 turtles, and the remaining 5 turtles served as controls. We captured and handled all turtles similarly during treatments. We collected feces daily prior to attachment (14 June–05 July 2002), while transmitters were attached (06 July–02 August 2002), and after transmitters were removed (03 August–24 August 2002). We conducted a standard assay validation and found that the assay accurately and precisely quantified fecal glucocorticoid metabolites of box turtles. We did not find a significant effect of radiotransmitter attachment on fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels of three-toed box turtles (F1, 9 =0.404, P=0.541). Fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels of control and treatment turtles increased significantly during the study (F2,166=7.874, P= 0.001), but there was no treatment:period interaction (F2,166 = 0.856, P = 0.427). Additionally, we did not find a significant relationship between glucocorticoid metabolite levels and time in captivity (r2=0.01, F1,179=2.89, P=0.091) or maximum daily temperature (r2\u3c0.01, F1,179=0.301, P=0.584). Our results suggested that radiotransmitter attachment did not significantly increase fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels in adult three-toed box turtles; however, we conducted our study in captivity and sample sizes were small. Thus, more research is needed to assess potential effects of radiotransmitters on turtles in the wild. We believe this study is the first to validate the use of fecal glucocorticoid metabolite measures for reptiles, which might prove useful in other research studies