Coastal resource planning system: Integrating evaluation of ecological integrity and ecosystem services valuation

Efficient and effective coastal management decisions rely on knowledge of the impact of human activities on ecosystem integrity, vulnerable species, and valued ecosystem services—collectively, human impact on environmental quality (EQ). Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is an emerging approach to address the dynamics and complexities of coupled social-ecological systems. EBM “is intended to directly address the long-term sustainable delivery of ecosystem services and the resilience of marine ecosystems to perturbations” (Rosenberg and Sandifer, 2009). The lack of a tool that integrates human choices with the ecological connections between contributing watersheds and nearshore areas, and that incorporates valuation of ecosystem services, is a critical missing piece needed for effective and efficient coastal management. To address the need for an integrative tool for evaluation of human impacts on ecosystems and their services, Battelle developed the EcoVal™ Environmental Quality Evaluation System. The EcoVal system is an updated (2009) version of the EQ Evaluation System for Water Resources developed by Battelle for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Dee et al., 1972). The Battelle EQ evaluation system has a thirty-year history of providing a standard approach to evaluate watershed EQ. This paper describes the conceptual approach and methodology of the updated EcoVal system and its potential application to coastal ecosystems. (PDF contains 4 pages

The Under-Registration of Births in Latin America

Approximately 14 percent of births are unregistered in Latin America according to estimates by UNICEF (2001). Children who lack an official birth certificate can be denied access to social services, including enrolling in school and accessing health services. This paper examines the under-registration of births in six Latin American countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Peru, and Nicaragua) using Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). Under-registration of children younger than 5 is found to range from 8. 4 percent in Peru to 25. 8 percent in the Dominican Republic. Striking regional differences are found in all six countries.

The Cover - The Quantified Self

The final cover created for Volume 1, Issue 2: The Quantified Self, The STEAM Journa

The Quantified Self, behind the Cover Art

We lead quantified lives. The information we send and receive through our computers, CD players, and smart phones is coded in ones and zeroes. We exist as numerical accounts, license numbers, and login IDs. Anyone who has ever waited on hold for a live customer service representative understands the desire to be treated like a person, not a number. We each want acceptance for our inherent peculiarities and consideration for our circumstance—conditions we believe extrinsic to numbers

Kind of Blue Artist\u27s Statement

Leslie Love Stone is a conceptual painter whose work often focuses on the models we build to make sense of the world and ourselves. The beauty of order is exemplified through the geometric abstraction of statistical information; complicated content is eloquently transparent with her use of negative space, repeating patterns, and color

Implementing a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) into an IE Curriculum

Since 2013, the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering (IMSE) Department at Iowa State University (ISU) has provided high-impact education experiences to as many as 35 students/semester (~6% of its student body) through undergraduate research assistantships (URAs). These experiences support ISU’s strategic goal of ensuring that students receive an exceptional education, with sub-goals of improving the ISU Experience for underrepresented students, increasing retention and graduation rates for all students, and growing the impact and scope of graduate programs [1], [2]. The number of students who can benefit from this experience in the IMSE Department has plateaued, however, because of faculty time constraints. To significantly increase the number of students having this kind of experience, we are implementing a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE), where students address research problems in the context of a class. CUREs benefit students in numerous ways; we are focusing on increasing retention in STEM fields and interest in graduate study. ASEE data from 2016 show that currently 31.8% of industrial engineering bachelor’s degrees are awarded to women [3]; an increase in this number would be an example of a positive outcome of a CURE. To assess the effectiveness of CUREs as both a retention tool and graduate school pipeline, the IMSE Department has implemented a pilot CURE in the Spring 2018 semester in one 40-student section of a required, 3-credit, second-year applied ergonomic and work design course. At the end of the semester, data will be compared between two sections of this course: the CURE section and the non-CURE (traditional lecture) section. This project will measure increases in the number of students who have undergraduate research experiences, retention rates within the department, and the number of students who enroll in STEM-related graduate school. This work-in-progress paper describes the methods used to develop the CURE pedagogy, including the research activities and assignments that are being incorporated into the course, along with planned assessments. Baseline data and longitudinal data collection plans are described

Filling the Graduate Pipeline Via Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs)

Like many other STEM fields needing workers, the industrial engineering profession will benefit from increased undergraduate retention and an increased number of graduate school applications from women and underrepresented minority populations. Research in the sciences shows that having a significant, hands-on educational experience can affect these numbers, but little has been done to examine this within the field of industrial engineering. In the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering Department at Iowa State University, we have seen increased graduate school applications result from students participating in undergraduate research assistantships. To increase the number of students having access to undergraduate research opportunities, during the Spring 2018 semester, we implemented a course-based undergraduate research (CURE) pedagogy in a second-year human factors and ergonomics course. This paper describes one of the four research units that was developed and incorporated. The approximately 130 students enrolled in either treatment or control sections were each surveyed; the data were compared with previous undergraduate research data. This work establishes the baseline needed for longitudinal tracking of student retention and graduate school applications related to CUREs in an industrial engineering course. Lessons learned regarding transitioning a course from a traditional lecture format to a CURE pedagogy are included