SYSTEMS FOR HANDLING GROCERY PRODUCTS FROM SUPPLIER TO DISTRIBUTION WAREHOUSE

Agribusiness,

A LOOK AT THE PROBLEMS OF THE FRONT-END OPERATION IN SUPERMARKETS WITH THE AUTOMATIC CHECKOUT

Agribusiness,

An Investigation to Remotely Sense Mineral Leeching Through Soils

Satellite data on Earth\u27s surface provide a wealth of information on landscape conditions. I use Landsat data to determine an important geologic process that influences the composition of the soils. My project focusses on the experimental hypothesis that we can use plant vigor as a proxy to document mineral washing downslopes through soils. I constructed a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) composite image from Landsat data to help assess vegetation heath in my target location - a national park south of Mount St. Helens. This location was selected because of its steep inclines, dense undisturbed vegetation, and fertile soils. It is my hypothesis that as water trickles down through the soil it picks up and moves the dissolvable minerals downslope, therefore providing more minerals that aid vegetation growth and vigor at the bottom of the slopes. The NDVI analysis presented here provides data that can be used in a more detailed analysis of the same

Benthic Microfloral Production on the West and Gulf Coasts of the United States: Techniques for Analyzing Dynamic Data (Entropy Data Analysis).

The objective of this study was to compare benthic microfloral production on the west and gulf coasts of the U.S.A., and to determine what factors govern that production. Intensive, month long field studies were conducted at two sites in a salt marsh lagoon (Mugu Lagoon) in southern California and at two sites in a shallow water estuary (Barataria Estuary) in southwest Louisiana. For both studies, fluctuations in production during a single month approximated those measured previously over an entire year: daily production varied from 0 to 1500 mg C (.) m(\u27-2). A comparison was made between the sources of error likely to be introduced by insufficient sampling in space and time with the error likely to be introduced by the commonly used conversions of hourly productivity to monthly production. The error introduced by inadequate sampling in space and time outweighs the error introduced by converting measured midday productivity to estimated monthly production. For a given number of days per month, sampling at a few stations several times per month is more informative than sampling at many stations once or twice a month. The cumulative error introduced in the annual estimates by insufficient sampling and inappropriate conversion assumptions accounts for the total range of variation in existing annual estimates for different regions of the world. The data sets were not amenable to standard statistical analyses, because correlations between productivity and the individual environmental variables varied through time. Multichannel information analysis indicated that the collective information for all the measured variables produced periodicities of 14 days, 7 days, or less, reflecting the dynamic nature of the benthic microfloral system and the need for frequent sampling. Entropy data analysis indicated that no single variable limits productivity. Instead, the variables integrate into factors and these factors change over time. At all 4 sites, productivity was influenced primarily by several different types of disturbance: tidal currents, meteorological and man-made waves, and direct and indirect disturbance by macrofauna were most important. Solar radiation became important in the absence of disturbance. The concept of an ecosystem grammar is developed as a tool for describing the rules that govern the interrelationships amongst variables

Analysis of Grade Variances in Multisection Calculus Classes

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore grade variances associated with multisection calculus grades. The method for the project was quantitative examining grade distribution patterns that existed between calculus sections at a public university void of an over-arching grading policy during the case study. Results showed that different grade distribution patterns by different instructors were primarily due to student-centric characteristics. The significant findings suggest that student grades are firmly in control of students. Only when course grade averages were at the extreme did evidence suggest that instructor-centric characteristics played meaningful role in student grade determination

Q-Squared in Policy: The Use of Qualitative and Quantitative Methods of Poverty Analysis in Decision-Making

This introductory essay for the journal Symposium presents an overview of issues related to ‘Q-Squared in Policy: the use of qualitative and quantitative methods of poverty analysis in decision-making’. We focus on issues raised on the supply side of data use, relating, inter alia to the informational content and policy usefulness of different types of data and analysis. These issues are grouped under the headings of: outcomes vs. processes, unpacking processes and thick and thin. We begin however, with a brief discussion of one aspect of the demand side, namely the politics of data use, given its centrality to the issues at hand.poverty, methods, mixed method research, policy process, methodological pluralism, impact assessment, International Relations/Trade, Political Economy,

ACB armoring potential failure modes at dam embankments and spillways

Presented at the Protections 2016: 2nd international seminar on dam protection against overtopping: concrete dams, embankment dams, levees, tailings dams held on 7th-9th September, 2016, at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA. The increasing demand for dam and levee safety and flood protection has motivated new research and advancements and a greater need for cost-effective measures in overtopping protection as a solution for overtopping concerns at levees and dams. This seminar will bring together leading experts from practice, research, development, and implementation for two days of knowledge exchange followed by a technical tour of the Colorado State University Hydraulic Laboratory with overtopping flume and wave simulator. This seminar will focus on: Critical issues related to levees and dams; New developments and advanced tools; Overtopping protection systems; System design and performance; Applications and innovative solutions; Case histories of overtopping events; Physical modeling techniques and recent studies; and Numerical modeling methods.Includes bibliographical references.Over the past 26 years numerous embankment dams and earth-cut spillways in the United States have been armored using Articulating Concrete Blocks (ACBs) to provide erosion protection. Several dams and spillways armored with ACBs have been overtopped and performed satisfactorily with overtopping flow depths and velocities approaching 4 feet and 30 feet per second, respectively. Over the same period, some ACB overtopping applications have failed and others have experienced damage requiring maintenance to make the ACB system functional again. Much has been learned about what works and what does not work. Of the ACB installations that have failed or experienced damage, the underlying issues have been attributed to one of several potential failure modes that may not have been understood or adequately addressed during the design. The purpose of this paper is to share information on several recent ACB embankment armoring and spillway armoring failures, and to describe the specific failure modes associated with these incidents. Suggestions for incorporating design features to address these potential failure modes are also provided. This information is important for engineers to consider during their designs, and for regulators reviewing ACB armoring designs, so that future failures and unnecessary damage resulting in costly maintenance can be prevented

Effect of conductive cooling pads on heat and moisture production of gilts in hot and thermoneutral environments

Swine productivity, reproductivity, and well-being are reduced during periods of high temperature and the most commonly used cooling method, evaporative cooling, is not very effective under high humidity conditions. Conductive cooling pads made from pipes with cool water passing through them have the potential to cool swine under both high temperature and high humidity conditions. A study was conducted to determine some responses of gilts to conductive cooling pads under heat stress conditions. Conductive cooling pads 15 cm wide by 127 cm long were made from 13 mm diameter copper pipe and were fastened to the slatted flooring of a standard sow stall. The size and placement of the pads was such that the gilts could lie on them completely, lie on them partially, or avoid contact with them. Cool water (18⁰C) was pumped through one of the pads at a flow rate of 4 L min-1 for the treatment gilts and the control gilts had no water flowing though the cool pads. Each gilt was acclimated to thermoneutral conditions (16⁰C), and then placed in the stall in a convective indirect calorimeter under heat stress conditions (35⁰C). The animal’s total heat production, respiration rate, and moisture production were determined. Results show that during the heat stress periods, the conductive cooling pads reduced the gilt’s heat production by around 10%, moisture production by 34%, and respiration rate by 22%. In most cases, the cool pads significantly reduced the onset of panting