Examining the Use of Engineering Internship Workplace Competency Assessments for Continuous Improvement

This study explored how workplace competency assessment data from internship studentsand their supervisors, collected by College of Engineering programs between fall 2001 throughfall 2011 are applied toward continuous improvement practices. The continuous improvementprocess is integral to the accreditation and evaluation of the engineering curriculum. This mixedmethods study examined three separate practices using internship workplace competencyassessment ratings in the continuous improvement process. The study examined how assessmentrankings of the internship students’ workplace competency strengths and weakness have changedfrom the 2001-05 assessment terms in the past accreditation cycle, to the 2006-11 assessmentterms of the most recent accreditation cycle. In addition, this study examined competencyachievement percentages related to the ABET Criterion 3 (a-k) outcomes across the sametimeline. The third part of the study investigated how workplace competency assessment data areused to support continuous improvement for program curricula in the College of Engineering.The intent of the study was to gain better understanding of how the workplace competencyassessment data has benefited the continuous improvement process that enhances studentlearning. The results can also provide suggestions to programs in the early stages of developingnew program evaluation techniques

Competency-based Outcomes Assessment for Agricultural Engineering Programs

The ABET 2000 criteria have provided the impetus for the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department at Iowa State University to re-structure the assessment of its undergraduate agricultural engineering program. We linked ABET student outcomes to validated work-place competencies with key actions that are measurable in academic and experiential education environments. Two tools are being used to assess competencies: an on-line assessment system and electronic portfolios developed by each student as a requirement for graduation. This paper discusses the overall philosophy of our assessment program, how the assessment tools are being implemented, and the implications for change in the curriculum

Effect of Blending Amaranth Grain with Maize Kernels on Maize Weevil Control during Storage

Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) is used as a vegetable, food, forage, and sometimes an ornamental. Amaranth grain has higher protein content than other cereals, making it a good choice for human consumption. Maize is among the three most widely grown grains in the world, but it can experience large postharvest losses during storage due to infestation by the maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais). Due to the small size of amaranth seeds, this study postulated that amaranth grain can be blended with maize during storage to fill the intergranular spaces between maize kernels, reducing the overall void volume to minimize maize weevil movements to access the kernels, and thereby controlling the maize weevil population. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects on maize weevil control of blending maize with amaranth grain during storage versus storing maize alone. Three 208 L (55 gal) steel barrels were loaded with 160 kg (353 lb) of maize, and three were loaded with a maize-amaranth mixture (1:1 by volume), all with initial weevil populations of 25 live weevils per kg of maize. Blending maize with amaranth for storage reduced the number of live weevils after 160 days by 66% compared to storing maize alone. Additional reduction of live weevils could be accomplished if the maize were completely covered by amaranth grain, further restricting maize weevil access to the maize kernels

Differential Impacts of Online Delivery Methods on Student Learning: A Case Study in Biorenewables

In 2007, a Virtual Education Center for Biorenewable Resources was initiated that offered three distance education courses, one being Biorenewable Resources and Technology (BRT) 501 – Fundamentals of Biorenewable Resources and Technology, the subject of this study. The primary objective was to determine if course delivery method (video lecture format and the other in menu-driven auto-tutorial presentations (MDAP) deliv¬ered via Flash format), student major (agricultural and non-agricultural), and gender influence online student learning in BRT 501. We found that BRT 501 student performance was not significantly impacted by module delivery method. Students with agricultural majors were outperformed by students with non-agricultural majors, most of whom were engineering students, on the midterm and final exams, and course grade. Gender dif¬ferences seen on the biomass-module first-attempt total quiz score disappeared for the final total quiz score on that module

Prioritizing native migratory fish passage restoration while limiting the spread of invasive species: A case study in the Upper Mississippi River

Despite increasing efforts globally to remove dams and construct fish passage structures, broad-scale analyses balancing tradeoffs between cost and habitat gains from these mitigations infrequently consider invasive species. We present an optimization-based approach for prioritizing dam mitigations to restore habitat connectivity for native fish species, while limiting invasive species spread. Our methodology is tested with a case study involving 240 dams in the Upper Mississippi River, USA. We integrate six native migratory fish species distribution models, distributions of two invasive fishes, and estimated costs for dam removal and construction of fish passes. Varying budgets and post-mitigation fish passage rates are analyzed for two scenarios: ‘no invasives’ where non-selective mitigations (e.g., dam removal) are used irrespective of potential invasive species habitat gains and ‘invasives’ where a mixture of selective (e.g., lift-and-sort fish passage) and non-selective mitigations are deployed to limit invasive species range expansion. To achieve the same overall habitat connectivity gains, we find that prioritizations accounting for invasive species are 3 to 6 times more costly than those that do not. Habitat gains among native fish species were highly variable based on potential habitat overlap with invasive species and post-mitigation passabilities, ranging from 0.4–58.9% (‘invasives’) and 7.9–95.6% (‘no invasives’) for a $50M USD budget. Despite challenges associated with ongoing nonnative fish invasions, opportunities still exist to restore connectivity for native species as indicated by individual dams being frequently selected in both scenarios across varying passabilities and budgets, however increased restoration costs associated with invasive species control indicates the importance of limiting their further spread within the basin. Given tradeoffs in managing for native vs. invasive species in river systems worldwide, our approach demonstrates strategies for identifying a portfolio of candidate barriers that can be investigated further for their potential to enhance native fish habitat connectivity while concurrently limiting invasive species dispersal

Age and context of the oldest known hominin fossils from Flores

Recent excavations at the early Middle Pleistocene site of Mata Menge in the So\u27a Basin of central Flores, Indonesia, have yielded hominin fossils1 attributed to a population ancestral to Late Pleistocene Homo floresiensis2. Here we describe the age and context of the Mata Menge hominin specimens and associated archaeological findings. The fluvial sandstone layer from which the in situ fossils were excavated in 2014 was deposited in a small valley stream around 700 thousand years ago, as indicated by 40Ar/39Ar and fission track dates on stratigraphically bracketing volcanic ash and pyroclastic density current deposits, in combination with coupled uranium-series and electron spin resonance dating of fossil teeth. Palaeoenvironmental data indicate a relatively dry climate in the So\u27a Basin during the early Middle Pleistocene, while various lines of evidence suggest the hominins inhabited a savannah-like open grassland habitat with a wetland component. The hominin fossils occur alongside the remains of an insular fauna and a simple stone technology that is markedly similar to that associated with Late Pleistocene H. floresiensis