The Napkin Sketch Pilot Study: A minute-paper reflection in pictorial form

This paper presents an evidence-based practice pilot study of the potential cognitive benefits of requiring students to create sketches that summarize course material in ways different than presented in class. This exercise is termed a “napkin sketch” to articulate to students the benefits of simple sketches to communicate ideas – as is often done by engineers in practice. The purpose of the study was to investigate how this napkin sketch activity addresses three concerns of engineering educators: creativity, visualization and communication, and knowledge retention. Specific objectives of the study were to generate conclusions regarding the activity’s ability to (1) provide an outlet for, and a means of encouraging creativity, (2) provide an opportunity for students to visualize and communicate what they have learned through drawings rather than equations or writing, and (3) encourage knowledge retention by providing a mechanism for students to think about and describe concepts learned in the classroom differently than for other requirements. The scope of this paper includes the generation, implementation, and analysis of the napkin sketch activity in three civil engineering courses across eight different class sections in the spring and fall of 2019 at the U.S. Military Academy, a small, public, undergraduate-only four-year college in the northeast United States. The motivation for the study stems from evidence-based practices of re-representation from educational psychology, minute papers from educational research, the growing shift to computer-aided design and away from hand drawing, and recent research suggesting our engineering programs may be degrading student creativity. A between-subjects quasi-experimental setup examined four activity implementations and 249 sketches were collected. Sketch creativity was assessed by three instructors using a creativity rubric adapted from literature. The sketch creativity scores, along with individual student academic and course performance data, were analyzed using standard least squares regression and machine learning techniques to investigate the effect of sketching on creativity and understanding of course material. An anonymous and optional survey was also provided to a total of 56 students, with 21 students responding (37.5%). The following key conclusions can be drawn from the study: (1) the activity does encourage students to think about the material differently, and provides a means for creative students to express lesson content creatively; however, assessment bias, selection bias, and the inherent difficulty in assessing creativity does not allow us to draw conclusions about the creativity of engineering students in any absolute sense from the collected data; (2) incorporating an emphasis on freehand sketching into the engineering curriculum could have positive effects toward developing creativity and pictorial communication skills; (3) there was evidence in the data suggesting that the sample populations examined in the study are experiencing degradation in creativity between sophomore and senior level coursework, which was an idea expressed in the literature; (4) the sketch creativity scores are higher when it is conducted after blocks of material and performed outside of class

Subcommittee Report on the Establishment of a State Ethics Commission

The establishment of a State Ethics Commission relates directly to ethics reform in the state of New Mexico. Such a commission does not exist in New Mexico, the establishment of which would represent a tangible and concrete manifestation of a state commitment to ethics reform, as well as the top-down expectation that state officials (elected or otherwise) will be held to the highest standard of conduct in the performance of their duties. In addition, while New Mexico does have statutory proscriptions against certain kinds or conduct or requiring other kinds of conduct (i.e., the Government Conduct Act, the Procurement Act, Campaign Practices Act), there is no common set of ethical guidelines that apply uniformly to all executive agencies, elected officials, and employees. Moreover, there is no agency or organization that is charged with receiving reports of ethical misconduct, investigating such reports, and taking action as necessary, including disciplinary action. A state ethics commission could be established to do exactly that. This report reviews the options for establishing a state ethics commission and provides recommendations

Iterative Design and Usability Testing of the iMHere System for Managing Chronic Conditions and Disability

A novel mobile health platform, Interactive Mobile Health and Rehabilitation (iMHere), is being developed to support wellness and self-management among people with chronic disabilities. The iMHere system currently includes a smartphone app with six modules for use by persons with disabilities and a web portal for use by medical and rehabilitation professionals or other support personnel. Our initial clinical research applying use of this system provides insight into the feasibility of employing iMHere in the development of self-management skills in young adults (ages 18-40 years) with spina bifida (Dicianno, Fairman, McCue, Parmanto, Yih, et al., 2015). This article is focused on describing the iterative design of the iMHere system including usability testing of both the app modules and clinician portal. Our pilot population of persons with spina bifida fostered the creation of a system appropriate for people with a wide variety of functional abilities and needs. As a result, the system is appropriate for use by persons with various disabilities and chronic conditions, not only spina bifida. In addition, the diversity of professionals and support personnel involved in the care of persons with spina bifida (SB) also enabled the design and implementation of the iMHere system to meet the needs of an interdisciplinary team of providers who treat various conditions. The iMHere system has the potential to foster communication and collaboration among members of an interdisciplinary healthcare team, including individuals with chronic conditions and disabilities, for client-centered approach to support self-management skills.

A Methodology for Risk Assessment to Improve the Resilience and Sustainability of Critical Infrastructure with Case Studies from the United States Army

Reliable performance of energy and water infrastructure is central to the mission readiness of the United States Army. These systems are vulnerable to coordinated attacks from an adversary as well as disruption from natural events. The objectives of this work were to investigate Army installations in North America, identify best practices for improving the resilience and sustainability of critical energy and water infrastructure, and develop a framework and methodology for analyzing the resilience of an installation under varying outage scenarios. This work was accomplished using a multi-layered decision process to identify unique case studies from the 117 active-duty domestic Army installations. A framework for analyzing and assessing the resilience of an installation was then developed to help inform stakeholders. Metered energy and water data from buildings across Fort Benning, GA were curated to inform the modeling framework, including a discrete-event simulation of the supply and demand for energy and water on the installation using ProModel. This simulation was used to study the scale of solutions required to address outage events of varying frequency, duration, and magnitude, the combination of which is described as the severity of outages at a given site. This project helps develop a framework to inform how installations might meet Army Directive 2020-03, which states that installations must be able to sustain mission requirements for a minimum of 14 days after a disruption has occurred

14-3-3 Proteins Interact with a Hybrid Prenyl-Phosphorylation Motif to Inhibit G Proteins

Signaling through G proteins normally involves conformational switching between GTP- and GDP-bound states. Several Rho GTPases are also regulated by RhoGDI binding and sequestering in the cytosol. Rnd proteins are atypical constitutively GTP-bound Rho proteins, whose regulation remains elusive. Here, we report a high-affinity 14-3-3-binding site at the C terminus of Rnd3 consisting of both the Cys241-farnesyl moiety and a Rho-associated coiled coil containing protein kinase (ROCK)-dependent Ser240 phosphorylation site. 14-3-3 binding to Rnd3 also involves phosphorylation of Ser218 by ROCK and/or Ser210 by protein kinase C (PKC). The crystal structure of a phosphorylated, farnesylated Rnd3 peptide with 14-3-3 reveals a hydrophobic groove in 14-3-3 proteins accommodating the farnesyl moiety. Functionally, 14-3-3 inhibits Rnd3-induced cell rounding by translocating it from the plasma membrane to the cytosol. Rnd1, Rnd2, and geranylgeranylated Rap1A interact similarly with 14-3-3. In contrast to the canonical GTP/GDP switch that regulates most Ras superfamily members, our results reveal an unprecedented mechanism for G protein inhibition by 14-3-3 proteins

Enhanced Sustainability Concrete Mixtures: Effects of Elevated Temperature Exposure on Changes in Microstructure and Elastic Properties and the Development of Modified Layered-Sectional Analysis for Forensic Investigation

Part I of this report discusses the findings of an investigation of the relationships between changes in microstructure and elastic properties of lightweight and conventional, enhanced sustainability concrete (ESC) mixtures resulting from elevated temperature exposure. The shear modulus (G) and dynamic elastic (Young’s) modulus (Ed) was determined from resonant frequency of nominal 25 mm (1 in.) thick by 100 mm (4 in.) diameter disk specimens, tested wet and dry, before and after exposure to 150 C (300 F) and 300 C (570 F). The crack densities () before and after exposure were estimated from wet and dry G values of the disk. A critical finding was that the relationship between initial crack density and changes in crack density were similar regardless of the fly ash content implying that ESC mixtures can be used similarly to conventional mixtures in elements exposed to elevated temperatures. This study confirmed the well established effects of strength on damaged concrete members due to elevated temperature exposures, and found statistically significant differences between changes in crack density of mixtures containing fly ash and those containing slag cement. Part II of this report describes the development of a modified layered-sectional analysis (MLSA) providing the engineer with a tool to assess structural behavior of concrete beams with localized damage, a problem not well suited to classical, closed form solutions. The MLSA framework was then used to examine how concrete materials with enhanced sustainability would perform in service after damage associated with a short intense fire. The elastic (Young’s) modulus of the ESC mixtures was determined in a companion study for undamaged and damaged conditions before and after exposure to 300 C. The elastic properties were incorporated into the MLSA, which predicted satisfactory structural performance of the evaluated ESC beams with localized damage due to fire

Design and Implementation of a New Retrofit for Prestressed Concrete Bridge Elements Using Mechanically-Fastened Fiber-Reinforced Polymer

Currently, departments of transportation (DOTs) must post load restrictions or closures on bridges with deteriorated prestressed concrete superstructures that can no longer carry original design loads. These posted restrictions and closures result in detours that increase travel time and vehicle operating costs for detoured vehicles, impacting commerce, public transportation, and emergency services. Often, load restrictions and closures must remain in place for several years to allow for budgeting, design, and contracting cycles prior to scheduling and completion of permanent repairs or superstructure replacement which must occur to remove posted restrictions. A retrofit solution, which is capable of restoring prestress losses and strength reduction in mild to moderately deteriorated prestressed concrete bridge superstructures such that the useful service life of the bridge can be extended for 3 to 5 years allowing a more permanent solution to be planned and budgeted, would be useful. A practical retrofit alternative is one that that can be installed relatively rapidly by DOT maintenance personnel, can immediately restore traffic upon installation, can be easily inspected and maintained as necessary, and should not be more costly than user costs associated with load restrictions or closures. The thesis describes the results of an experimental program to examine the practical and technical feasibility of restoring prestress losses in deteriorated prestressed concrete C-channel beams using a mechanically-fastened fiber-reinforced polymer (MF-FRP) retrofit methodology. This study found that the developed MF-FRP retrofit methodology is capable of restoring the original bridge load rating and can be installed by a single DOT maintenance crew within 1 to 2 days, depending upon the length and level of deterioration of the candidate bridge. Small-scale testing to optimize the mechanical anchor pattern with respect to the capacity of the FRP material was examined and the number of fasteners required for a typical application was determined. A prestressing mechanism for the retrofit and connection design to attach the MF-FRP retrofit system was developed, including effects of the significant spatial restrictions found in the field. The methodology was optimized with respect to FRP efficiency and retrofit installation time. The MFFRP retrofit solution was tested on 6 full-scale prestressed concrete C-channel beams recently removed from service. The full-scale tests examined the behavior of the undamaged (control) and deteriorated beams with and without the MF-FRP retrofit. The results of the full-scale tests indicated that the MF-FRP retrofit solution presented in this study is capable of restoring the original load rating of prestressed concrete C-channel beams with mild to moderate prestress loss due to deterioration, and it is feasible for the MF-FRP retrofit to be rapidly installed on-site on a bridge and immediately restore traffic upon installation. Technical limitations and difficulties with field installation techniques used in the initial design resulted in significant changes in both the design and field-fabrication methods. Basic production rates for the initial and improved designs were determined, confirming that the field installation can be completed in as little as a single work day by a typical 4-worker DOT maintenance crew. Additionally, a limited qualitative cost comparison indicates that the proposed MF-FRP methodology is economically feasible with the break-even point between the initial installation and material cost to the DOT and the vehicle operating cost savings occurring between a few days and a few months, depending upon the traffic volume, detour length, and posted restriction level for a deteriorated bridge

Modified Layered-Sectional Analysis for Forensic Investigation

This paper describes a modification to the layered-sectional analysis approach, which provides the engineer with a tool to assess structural behavior of concrete beams with localized damage, a problem not well suited to classical, closed-form solutions. The modified layered-sectional analysis (MLSA) framework is applied to a forensic investigation case study in which two prestressed double-tee beams are exposed to a short duration, intense fire in a parking structure. The results of the MLSA are within 1% of the case study load test, which indicates that the MLSA could be a useful, computationally efficient tool for the investigating engineer to predict the postfire serviceability and strength of damaged beams, and potentially eliminate the need for expensive load testing. A short parametric study is included for the research engineer interested in the MLSA for predicting the postdamage behavior of non-standard materials such as enhanced sustainability concrete (ESC)

Rapid Restoration of Deteriorated Prestressed Concrete Bridges Using Mechanically Fastened Fiber Reinforced Polymer

This presentation introduces a methodology to rapidly address deteriorated prestressed concrete bridge superstructures using prestressed mechanically-fastened fiberreinforced polymer (MF-FRP). Currently, departments of transportation (DOTs) must post load restrictions or closures on bridges with deteriorated prestressed concrete superstructures that can no longer carry original design loads. These posted restrictions and closures result in detours that increase travel time and vehicle operating costs for detoured vehicles, impacting commerce, public transportation, and emergency services. Often, load restrictions and closures must remain in place for several years to allow for budgeting, design, and contracting cycles prior to scheduling and completion of permanent repairs or superstructure replacement which must occur to remove posted restrictions. Therefore, a methodology which is capable of restoring prestress losses and strength reduction in mild to moderately deteriorated prestressed concrete bridge superstructures such that the useful service life of the bridge can be extended for 3 to 5 years while a permanent solution is planned and budgeted is desired. Further, a retrofit solution that can be installed rapidly by DOT maintenance personnel, can immediately restore traffic upon installation, and can be easily inspected and maintained is necessary for successful implementation into existing DOT policies and procedures