Principles of Aristotle’s Poiesis as a Foundation for Human-Centered Engineering Design

In order to improve design methodology and better utilize human-centered design (HCD) approaches, there is a need for an intellectual foundation to reconcile HCD with traditional design approaches. A method from Aristotle, called Poiesis, provides a useful basis for this while helping to relate engineering design to a general discipline of design. In this paper, we explain what Poiesis is in an engineering design context, and examine the similarities between current methods and this ancient approach. Current methodology is similar to different parts of Poiesis, but we propose that it can be improved by combining different existing methods using Poiesis as a framework for a more comprehensive, holistic approach

Just digitize it! : The J. Willard Marriott Library's endeavor to bring geological scholarship to the world (Abstract)

abstractThe need to organize, preserve, and share the geoscience materials available at the University of Utah motivated the J. Willard Marriott Library's Geospatial Information Committee to begin a project of digitizing the University of Utah's geological theses and their associated maps. This presentation describes the process and results of one library's efforts to share its geologic scholarship with the world

Combustion Model of Supersonic Rocket Exhausts in an Entrained Flow Enclosure

This paper describes the Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model developed to simulate the supersonic rocket exhaust in an entrained flow cylinder. The model can be used to study the plume-induced environment due to static firing test of the Taurus II launch vehicle. The finite rate chemistry is used to model the combustion process involving rocket propellant (RP 1) and liquid oxidizer (LOX). A similar chemical reacting model is also used to simulate the mixing of rocket plume and ambient air. The model provides detailed information on the gas concentration and other flow parameters within the enclosed region thus allowing different operating scenarios to be examined in an efficient manner. It is shown that the real gas influence is significant and yields better agreement with the theory

BIOFUELS, CLIMATE POLICY, AND WATER MANAGEMENT: ASSESSING POLICY-INDUCED SHIFTS ON AGRICULTURE’S EXTENSIVE AND INTENSIVE MARGINS

Biofuel expansion efforts and climate mitigation policy could fundamentally alter land management trends in U.S. agriculture and forestry (AF) by mandating biofuel feedstock production and providing incentives for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction and carbon sequestration from terrestrial sources. Research has shown that biofuel expansion can alter commodity markets, induce agricultural land expansion, and intensify production. Meanwhile, GHG mitigation efforts could limit agricultural expansion, reduce current cultivation, and lower management intensity by incentivizing GHG emissions reduction and carbon sequestration within AF. To date, little work has attempted to quantify biofuel and climate policy-induced shifts together along the extensive and intensive agricultural production margins within a systems-based framework, though such shifts could have resounding implications on agricultural water consumption and quality. This study uses a comprehensive and detailed economic model of the U.S. AF sectors to simulate land management responses to biofuel expansion and GHG policies. While bioenergy production and altered AF management practices are found to significantly reduce GHG emissions, additional water consumption and nutrient use are possible policy outcomes. Specifically, we find that policies that influence shifts to the extensive margin will increase aggregate water use and nutrient application, but lead to lower intensity per-unit area. Conversely, when combined with biofuel mandates climate mitigation incentives lower agricultural land expansion, but lead to higher levels of management intensity. Somewhat contrary to expectations, GHG mitigation incentives cause water and nutrient use intensity to grow at an increasing rate due to the greater level of land use competition. Additionally, important regional trends emerge, as water use and quality concerns grow with the CO2 price in areas with limited GHG mitigation possibilities. This suggests that “water leakage” is possible whereby emissions reduction activities decrease output in one region and stimulate management intensity elsewhere. The potential indirect consequences of combined biofuel and climate mitigation incentives on water resource systems warrant further attention in policy design and future research.Greenhouse gas mitigation, biofuels, water resource management, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Capping of Water Wells for Future Use

4 pp., 4 photos, 1 illustrationWater wells that are not being used, but that might be needed in the future, can be sealed with a cap that covers the top of the well casing pipe to prevent unauthorized access and contamination of the well. This publication explains how to cap a well safely and securely

Wheels of Fortune: The Economic Impacts of Wheelchair Provision in Ethiopia

Although approximately 1 billion people in the world live with physical disabilities, there is a lack of rigorous research on the economic impacts of providing assistive devices for persons with disabilities. This study involves 261 people with disabilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where 121 had received wheelchair donations through nonprofit organisations. Using covariate matching (CVM), seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) and a series of robustness checks for endogeneity, it is found that those given access to a wheelchair devoted 1.75 more hours per day to work, 1.40 fewer hours per day to street begging and realised a 77.5 per cent increase in income. Results point to a 122 per cent internal rate of return based on new income created from wheelchair donation

Kato square root problem with unbounded leading coefficients

We prove the Kato conjecture for elliptic operators, $L=-\nabla\cdot\left((\mathbf A+\mathbf D)\nabla\ \right)$, with $\mathbf A$ a complex measurable bounded coercive matrix and $\mathbf D$ a measurable real-valued skew-symmetric matrix in $\mathbb{R}^n$ with entries in $BMO(\mathbb{R}^n)$;\, i.e., the domain of $\sqrt{L}\,$ is the Sobolev space $\dot H^1(\mathbb{R}^n)$ in any dimension, with the estimate $\|\sqrt{L}\, f\|_2\lesssim \| \nabla f\|_2$

Response of Micro-Tom to Low Light

Yield is proportional to light absorption, but maximum light cannot always be supplied to crops in either space station production settings or in teaching situations. It is therefore important to determine how crops grow in light-limited conditions. ‘Micro-Tom’ tomato was grown in fluorescent light under shade cloth to provide 100, 200, and 300 µmol m-2 s-1 for 16-h photoperiods at 26/22 °C for 117 days.Yield and harvest index increased as light increased. There were significant amounts of unripe fruit after 117 days. During ripening, the fraction of dry matter decreases within the fruit.The higher yield was likely due to better fruit set in higher light, as evidenced by higher numbers of fruit with additional light. Higher light did not influence ripening, and the fraction of red fruit stayed constant with all light. ‘Micro-Tom’ was able to set and ripen fruit even at extremely low light levels

AIS SCLC 2022 Industry Panel Your Digital Future

This is a video recording of the Industry Panel during AIS SCLC 2022 entitled Your Digital Future